Washington Watch: Blue Button Push

One of the most interesting and innovative elements of the advancement of health information technology that I've encountered, is Blue Button, a web tool patients can use to view and download their personal health information. Blue Button has been in use for two years by the Veterans Health Administration and other healthcare organizations, including Kaiser Permanente, McKesson, Aetna and United Health Group.

On Aug. 9, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) officials called for public participation in the federal government's "Automate Blue Button Initiative," a federal effort to take Blue Button nationwide.