Industrial powerhouse General Electric Co. hopes a push into medical electronic records and information with some of the top health care institutions in the nation will put it at the front of what is expected to be a rapidly growing market.

The Fairfield, Conn.-based company’s health care unit plans to spend $200 million over the next five years to develop electronic systems for medical information and patient records. Its partners are among top medical institutions, including the Mayo Clinic and Montefiore Medical Center.

The idea for better electronic access and portability with medical records is not new. For years, governments and health systems have been pushing for electronic medical records that could easily be shared between different hospitals and physicians.

The goal of such a system is to boost efficiency and quality within the system, while cutting time and costs. But no two hospitals or medical institutions are alike, and a system for sharing information has been elusive.

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