Now This Sounds Like an Interesting Idea! Might Even Be Able To be Implemented Here.

The following appeared a few days ago.

Markle Foundation's recommendations for 'blue button' backed by 46 organizations

August 31, 2010 | Molly Merrill, Associate Editor

NEW YORK – Forty-six organizations have showed their support for the Markle Foundation’s recommendations for privacy and security practices for the “blue button,” which would allow patients to have instant access to their healthcare records.

“By clicking the blue button, you could get your own health information electronically – things like summaries of doctor visits, medications you are currently taking, or test results. Being able to have your own electronic copies and share them as you need to with your doctors is a first step in truly enabling people to engage in their healthcare,” said Carol Diamond, MD, MPH, managing director at Markle.

The private not-for-profit organization based in New York, released a policy paper on Tuesday that called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to make patients' access to their records a priority in all health IT efforts, including:

• Specifying the download capability as an allowable means for providers to deliver electronic copies of health information to individual patients consistent with the policy and technology recommendations of the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework.
• Making the download capability and our policy recommendations a requirement of qualified health IT so that providers using qualified systems will have this capability.
• Making the download capability a core requirement for federal- and state-sponsored health IT grants and projects.

Markle Connecting for Health has developed a set of privacy and security practices to guide implementers. This new policy guidance builds on the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework for Networked Personal Health Information – a set of policies and practices that provide a foundation for all health IT tools directed at consumers.

Lots more here:

http://healthcareitnews.com/news/markle-foundations-recommendations-blue-button-backed-46-organizations

You can download the press release from the Markle Foundation here:

http://www.markle.org/downloadable_assets/20100831_bluebutton_pr.pdf

This has been stimulated by the US Government developing a standard exportable format for US Veteran’s Affairs and Department of Defence patients to share and download there information.

Sound like such a format might be developed between the GP Computer System Vendors and that it could be much simpler and easier than waiting for the IEHR/PCEHR or whatever.

Hopefully the detailed policy document will soon be released. It does not seem to be up just yet.

Very interesting idea indeed.

David.