The VA, Medicare and DoD have all implemented Blue Button, a download capability that gives individuals the ability to download their health or claims information in an easy–to –read format. These agencies all make their data available in human readable ASCII text. Blue Button was launched in August 2010 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and has since been adopted by Medicare for its beneficiaries and the Department of Defense for Tricare subscribers. It has become so popular that several other organizations – including insurance companies and retail outlets – are pledging to adopt a download capability for their customers. The Blue Button download capability concept was incubated by the public–private Markle Connecting for Health collaborative – including representatives from the Departments of Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs – sponsored by the Markle Foundation.
Giving patients online access to their medical records and claims data will give them more control over their health information and make it easier to share with their doctors, caregivers, or anyone else they choose. In turn, this transparency will increase efficiency, lower costs, and improve the overall quality of care.
Additionally, a provider that provides the download capability to their patients may be eligible for Meaningful Use incentives if they use a system that makes the information downloadable to patients in both human–readable text and one or more of the standardized clinical summary formats endorsed as Meaningful Use standards. More information about the vision for the view and download capability being a core requirement of Meaningful Use can be found on the Markle Foundation's website.
There is significant benefit to individuals in being able to download their information in human readable form. If an individual chooses, the data housed in his or her medical record can be used to power apps that have the potential to create a significant impact on how they manage their care. For example, the information can be used to help patients spot trends in their lab values and warn them when a trend is of concern; to monitor the physical and mental effects a new medication or treatment is having; or to remind them it's time order a prescription refill.
To encourage support market innovation through the development new and useful applications for consumers, the Markle Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported a Blue Button Developer Challenge. Read more about the past competition and future opportunities here.
To ensure that doctors, hospitals, health plans and other medical providers can freely give Blue Button data to all their patients – including Veterans – the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) registered the name "Blue Button," the Blue Button logo, and the slogan "Download My Data" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. You need a license to use the Blue Button Marks and can get one from VA at no cost; more information and a link to apply for a license can be found here.
No. More importantly, Blue Button is the idea of making a person's health data easily downloadable. For those who commit to offering Blue Button capability, we ask that, at a minimum, they make data available in human–readable ASCII text format. Ideally, any organization implementing a Blue Button will offer a variety of formats from which the user can choose.
Any capability for patients to view and download personal health information must be offered with appropriate privacy and security practices in place. To assist organizations in complying with these requirements when developing a Blue Button, the Markle Foundation has convened a public–private sector collaborative to develop recommended practices. To learn more about the general Blue Button framework and security/privacy requirements, we recommend exploring these resources:
The supplier of the download capability must make sure the identity of each individual given credentials to access his or her own data is established. The individual must present an acceptable token (e.g., unique user name and password combination) upon login to get access to the data for viewing and/or downloading.
Once individuals log in, they need to be able to view key parts of their personal health information or services, and they need to be able to download the information to their own desktop or device, or to a third–party service of their choosing. There is more information about this in Policies in Practice: The Download Capability, Markle Common Framework for Networked Personal Health Information.
The organization providing the download capability should provide a clear, concise explanation of the download function and its most fundamental implications for the individual. That includes the following:
Users should be able to download a copy of their own data in, at a minimum, a human–readable ASCII text format.
Human readability ensures that Blue Button users will not need to use a specific application or service to see their own health information. Users should have the option of viewing and downloading their information through ubiquitous Internet browsers and common software formats.
Additionally, if the data are available in standardized clinical summary formats, users should have an option to download the data in those formats. Ideally, any organization implementing a Blue Button will offer a variety of formats from which the user can choose.
back to top »Giving people online access to their medical records or claims information can enable them to become informed and empowered partners in their own health and health care. When provided with personal health information in a digital format, patients can help doctors, nurses and caregivers treat them more effectively.
Redundant lab tests can be avoided, harmful medical interactions stand a better chance of being caught, and patient–doctor communications will be improved.
