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The Blue Button Initiative
By Staff Reporters
On August 2, 2010, President Obama announced the “Blue Button” capability that allows Veterans to download their personal health information from their My HealtheVet account. VA developed the Blue Button in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Department of Defense, along with the Markle Foundation’s Consumer Engagement Workgroup.
My HealtheVet and the VA Blue Button
The My HealtheVet Personal Health Record (PHR) is comprised of self-entered health metrics (blood pressure, weight, heart rate, etc.), emergency contact information, test results, family health history, military health history, and other health related information. The Blue Button extract that Veterans can download is a so-called “ASCII text file”, the easiest and simplest electronic text format (see sample files: all data, by data class, or by date range).
VA Blue Button files can be printed, or saved on computers and portable storage devices. Having control of this information enables Veterans to share this data with health care providers, caregivers, or people they trust. On October 7, 2010, VA and CMS officially announced the VA Blue Button download feature in a presentation by VA Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Peter Levin, at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco. The initiative was launched in collaboration with the White House, the U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, and the Department of Health and Human Services Chief Technology Officer, Todd Park.
The VA Blue Button Was Upgraded to Empower Veterans to Manage Their Health Care
With the January 2011 release of the VA Blue Button, registered users of My HealtheVetcan now download a single file that includes these new features:
- VA Appointments (past and future) *
- Self-entered health care providers, treatment facilities and health insurance information
- Ability to customize the Blue Button download based on topics and dates
* Veterans must be in-person authenticated to access VA Appointments.
Assessment
So, give em’ a click and tell us what you think?
http://www.va.gov/BLUEBUTTON/index.asp
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Filed under: Information Technology, Military Medicine |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
The idea of using the ASCII text file rocks! Easy to incorporate into any software and universal. I already do that to upload information into Office Ally … I simply send my information from MS Access to MS Excel then I send off an Excel “txt” file which is an ASCII file.
Up to now the different formats presented have been complicated and more geared towards the “enterprise” EHRs in an effort to promote the sales of these systems. This ASCII idea is a truly refreshing advance!
Al
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ASCII Rocks
Thanks Dr. Borges. We agree but there is no money to be made in non-proprietary ASCII. Think MS-Word.
The Gang
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The Blue Prize
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is offering a $50,000 prize to anyone who can develop a personal health record (PHR) that uses the government’s Blue Button download method to import patient data from electronic health records.
The purpose is to provide veterans cared for by non-VA doctors with the same ability to download their records as those who see physicians employed by the VA or go to VA hospitals.
Clif
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Dr. Borges,
The VA’s proven HIT system is available for free, but can’t handle billing and insurance.
Drake
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The VA
The VA has been leading the way with wireless connectivity, virtual visits and remote patient monitoring which could save the US health care system billions of dollars, especially if it is used to manage patients with chronic diseases.
Carol
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ONC Celebrates Veterans Day and VA’s Commitment to Health IT Through Blue Button
Yesterday, on Veterans Day, we honored our country’s military veterans and celebrated the one year anniversary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “Blue Button” program; an online tool that allows veterans to access, download, and manage their electronically-stored health data.
http://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/ehr-case-studies/onc-celebrates-veterans-day-vas-commitment-health-blue-button/
Hope Rachel Hetico RN MHA
[Managing Editor]
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More on Blue Button
The BB initiative is expanding, nation-wide.
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/nurses-blue-button-are-highlighted-during-national-health-it-week
Nurse Kathy
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My HealtheVet celebrates 10th anniversary
First it was my My HealtheVet, the personal health record used by the Veterans Health Administration. Then, it was BlueButton, which spawned BlueButton+.
One way or another, the Veterans Administration continues to lead the way into the health record digital age, not only for veterans and Medicare beneficiaries, but for the private sector as well.
Gregory
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