Blue Button is the symbol for a patient’s access to their own data. Blue Button+ is the ability to get records in a human-readable and machine-readable format; and to send them where they choose.
Blue Button is a simple concept: give patients’ access to their own data. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) first used the Blue Button logo on its patient portal in 2010 ,By clicking on the button, individuals could download their medical records in digital form.
Since then, millions of Veterans have logged onto the tool to download their personal health information, and many of the country’s largest data holders, including federal agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) and private health plans such as United HealthCare and Aetna, have embraced Blue Button as a way to make health care data readily available to their beneficiaries.
Recognizing the success and potential of the Blue Button, in 2012, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) within the US Department of Health and Human Services took on the responsibility for taking it nationwide, in collaboration with the VA, the White House, and a host of other public and private sector leaders. Blue Button is an important component of engaging and empowering individuals and their families as partners in their health through information technology.
