A California HIE is partnering with Humetrix to allow physicians in that state to transmit medical records directly to their patients via mobile devices.
The partnership between California Direct and the developer of the iBlueButton app enables participating physicians and healthcare networks to quickly and securely send healthcare data to patients, officials said, as well as giving those patients a way to call up those records on mobile devices when needed.
"iBlueButton adds enormous value to California Direct by giving our physicians the capability to empower their patients," said Bill Beighe, general manager of Axesson, the technology provider behind California Direct, in a press release. "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. 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."
Humetrix, the Del Mar, Calif.-based mHealth developer launched by Bettina Experton, has been making inroads in the HIE space since the launch of iBlueButton roughly two years ago. The app is now being used by the Veterans' Administration, TRICARE and Medicare to connect consumers to their medical records on mobile devices.
"Arming patients with their health records at the point of care can dramatically improve clinical outcomes and even save lives," Experton said in the press release. "California Direct is among the organizations leading the way in capitalizing on both consumers' and providers' broad adoption of mobile devices to accelerate health information exchange and interoperability for safer and more coordinated care in the United States."
Beginning on August 1, healthcare providers using the California Direct platform can offer iBlueButton to their patients and use iBlueButton Professional themselves to connect via mobile devices. Once patients have the app, clinicians can push care summaries and other medical records to patients' devices, giving patients a real-time link to their up-to-date records.
"California Direct fills a critical HIE gap in California by offering a low-cost HIE service to providers," said Pamela Lane, deputy secretary of health information at the California Health and Human Services Agency and director of the CalOHII, in the press release. "The addition of the iBlueButton mobile app now provides a practical means for the exchange of critical health information between providers and their patients."
