App developer Humetrix said its iBlueButton will be used by California Direct and its physicians hoping to create better lines of communication with patients.
It’s the first mobile foray for California Direct, a health information exchange run by Santa Cruz-based Axesson that works with hospitals, ACOs and other providers throughout the West Coast on issues of interoperability. The app promises to securely transmit medical records directly to patients’ mobile devices.
The announcement comes not long after the app was given a trial run by the San Diego Regional Health Information Exchange last October, which was part of the BlueButton government program to help people access their personal health record.
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The iBlueButton app will allow patients to “receive and carry their medical records and share them with doctors at the point of care,” the companies said in a statement.
“With the ability to push medical records to patients’ mobile devices, participating doctors and health systems improve communications and allow patients to actively manage and drive their own healthcare decisions,” said Bill Beighe, general manager of Axesson. “We are using several standards including Direct Messaging, Blue Button+ and Consolidated CDA to facilitate the interoperability with modern health technology that is deployed or being deployed by providers and hospitals across the country.”
Physicians and hospitals that use California Direct for better communication between providers, care team members and patients can now offer iBlueButton for download to their patients’ devices. Another version, iBlueButton Professional, can be used by physicians on their iPads.
By equipping patients with a mobile medical record, they can present an up-to-date medical history at any interaction with a provider, according to the companies.
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“Arming patients with their health records at the point of care can dramatically improve clinical outcomes and even save lives,” said Dr. Bettina Experton, CEO of Humetrix.
The app pulls health records from a number of sources, including the VA, Medicare, Meaningful Use Stage 2-certified EMRs and TRICARE. Any medical record is stored directly onto the device of the patient, not third-party servers where they could be tampered with. The app also uses meaningful use standards to parse and receive records from California Direct.
