Elizabeth Leigh
Five major pharmacy chains and three pharmacy associations have agreed to support the Blue Button initiative as the federal government aims to spur development of new healthcare data applications in the private sector, Fedscoop reported Friday.
Scott Maucione writes the Department of Health and Human Service has worked with more than 70 pharmacy organizations to publish a guideline for providers to put data into machine-readable formats.
The Department of Veterans Affairs launched Blue Button in 2010 to help veterans access their health records and the initiative reaches more than 150 million Americans today, according to Fedscooop.
Pharmacies and organizations that will work on Blue Button over the next year include Walgreens, Kroger, Rite Aid, Safeway, CVS Caremark, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the Pharmacy Health IT Collaborative and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations.
The government intends for Blue Button users to access and evaluate their prescription history, share information with healthcare providers and view prescription lists from more than one doctor, Maucione writes.
