New Mexico;

    Oregon; and

    Utah.

They will focus on how state-level provider directories and trust services can be federated at a regional level to promote privacy and security and facilitate interstate exchange. After creating a common set of trust anchor services, Oregon and California will implement a proof of concept pilot and then will attempt to leverage provider directory services to allow the ability to look up the email addresses of intended recipients.

Another very exciting development is the Automate Blue Button Initiative (ABBI). Out of a collaboration convened by the Markle Foundation, several federal government agencies have taken leadership roles in developing Blue Button. VA, Medicare and TRICARE developed their Blue Button offering as part of a robust public and private sector collaboration, joined by payers such as Aetna and UnitedHealth, which now offers millions of individuals the ability to download their medical records or claims information from secure websites.

I attended a Health Data Summit at the Whitehouse where the idea was proposed that we could automate Blue Button downloads based on trigger events and patient preferences. ABBI was born out of a desire to make use of the most underutilized resource in health care: the patient. This initiative will advance the implementation standards, tools and services associated with the Blue Button to provide consumers with automated updates to their health information in a human-readable and machine-readable format.

Looking to the Future

All of these efforts are also closely aligned with the Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements for health information exchange. These requirements are pushing health care providers to the actual exchange of information, as well as engaging patients in their care. The Health Internet must include patients and their caregivers as equal partners in exchange, as well as being members of the care team. Information should follow the patient across the care continuum and be under their control.

As patients, we own our health data, and this concept is foundational to much of the work being done. Adoption of EHRs is necessary, but not sufficient to achieve our goals. Only by creating a platform to easily share health data, while ensuring privacy and security, will we be able to enable our health care system to move from paying for volume to paying for value based on quality and efficiency. We are well on our way down this path, and from a technology standpoint, we may finally be dragging health care into the 21st century.

This post originally appeared at iHealthBeat.