Need your health records? Click the blue button
/There's an effort underway to make all of your online health records easier to find.
Blue Button Connector is a new beta site launched this week from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (yes, that's a mouthful). Suffice it to say, it's the federal government's attempt to make health records more accessible.
The site is teaming with insurers, hospitals, physicians, pharmacies, labs and others to create a central clearinghouse for your health records — a one-stop download destination.
It's voluntary, and so far some of the biggies have signed up — from Aetna, Blue Cross, Humana and United Healthcare on the insurance side to CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens on the pharmacy side.
There are fewer hospitals and physicians involved. In Massachusetts, four providers are connected — Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's Hospital Boston, Harbor Health Services and Partners Healthcare — while there are none in neighboring Rhode Island.
The immunization registry is even scarcer — it is only available for residents of Indiana, Louisiana and Washington state.
But Blue Button Connector is a step in the right direction!