Phase 6: Health IT & Patient Protections
Media Releases
- New Policies in Practice from Markle Connecting for Health Address Challenges in Health Information Sharing Implementation
- Markle Survey on Health in a Networked Life Shows Support for Blue Button
- Blue Button Apps Show How to Turn Health Data Downloads Into Useful Tools
- Markle Collaborators Recommend Specific Privacy Practices for Download Capability
A Focus on Health Information Sharing Implementation
In 2012, an additional set of resources, the Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework Policies in Practice for Health Information Sharing (Policies in Practice), was developed as an addendum to the original Markle Common Framework to address a range of critical health information sharing implementation needs identified by experts working in the field.
Policies in Practice
The Policies in Practice aim to make the Markle Common Framework responsive to current implementation needs and more specific in some areas where additional guidance has been requested.
A Focus on the Health IT Provisions of Federal Laws
With Congress' passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), net investments of approximately $19 billion were dedicated to support the growth of health information technology. In addition, the Patient Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PACA) relies on information tools to support many of its programs and grants.
Collaborative Comments
Connecting for Health has worked intensively with collaborators to create consensus recommendations, applying the Markle Common Framework to a range of policy, technical, and governance questions created by these new investments.
Media Releases
Connecting for Health collaborators continue to impact policy and implementation efforts throughout the country.
A Focus on Personal Health
As part of our long-standing effort to improve individual access to personal health information, Markle challenged its Work Group on Consumer Engagement to identify potential breakthroughs that would allow consumers to benefit directly from the public investments in health IT being made through the Recovery Act.
This work group came up with the idea of a simple “blue button” for people to download their own health information. In less than a year, this idea became a reality—fully implemented by the Veterans Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a variety of private sector providers and payers. Innovators have shown that when consumers have access to their own information through a blue button download a variety of applications and services can be created to enhance the benefit of information access.
Policies in Practice
The Common Framework for Networked Personal Health Information (Policies in Practice) outlines recommended practices supported by over 50 organizations for protecting information as it is shared using the blue button.