Vendors Compete to Add EHRs, Provider Data Exchange to Blue Button Initiative

When VA went live with its Blue Button download format last year, the goal was to give veterans the ability to download their personal-health information directly from their MyHealtheVet account. A new initiative announced this summer will expand that capability to private health-care records. The end goal, VA officials say, is for veterans to have easy access to any and all of their records online and for VA and private physicians to eventually be able to share veterans’ records with each other.

The Blue Button system, developed in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and DoD, became operational in VA as part of MyHealtheVet in August 2010 and went national this past October. MyHealtheVet allows veterans to enter their family history, test results, emergency contact information, personal-health indicators (blood pressure, weight, heart rate) and other data online. They also can refill prescriptions, view appointments and check laboratory results. The Blue Button feature allows veterans, without any special software, to access and download their information into a simple text file that can be read, printed or saved on any computer...