The U.S. and United Kingdom have agreed to share health information technology data and tools, aiming to help build up healthcare delivery systems in both countries.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.K. Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt signed the agreement on Thursday with the goal of bolstering the use of health IT tools and information, the HHS said Thursday.

Sebelius said the collaboration is intended to help respond to the needs of aging populations and address chronic diseases.

Both countries will work together to develop best practices for using quality indicators and implementing digital health record systems across the healthcare spectrum.

HHS and the National Health Service will also collaborate in the areas of open data and secure information transparency, as well as develop standards for data sharing and clinical care.