Lygeia Ricciardi from ONC with a discussion about giving patients access to their data and a call for patients to volunteer in ONC’s worksgroups

http://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/electronic-health-and-medical-records/making-patient-access-health-information-reality/

Extract from the post:

So what can we do to make Blue Button even better? Here’s what we heard at the Patient Access Summit:

1. Enable automated downloads – Currently patients have to refresh their health information by pressing the Blue Button multiple times. Development of a “set it and forget it” or “Auto Blue Button” function would allow such updates to happen automatically based on patient preferences.
2. Address patient identity proofing and authentication – To help Blue Button to spread while protecting the privacy of patients, we need effective ways to ensure that individuals are who they claim to be.
3. Establish standards for claims data content for consumers – Many of the leading health insurance companies have agreed to use Blue Button, but work is needed to define the types of content that patients will receive from them in a standardized way.

Formal Workgroup Structures

ONC will be setting up formal workgroup structures to carry these initiatives forward in the near future. We’ll be asking for volunteers to join us—and the many who have already signed on—in this process. Stay tuned for updates, or send your email address to Erin Poetter, erin.poetter@hhs.gov, if you’d like to be included in the call for volunteers.