Humetrix to Demo iBlueButton's Capabilities to Serve Veterans Leveraging the New VA Lighthouse Blue Button 2.0 API at CES in Capitol Hill

Press Release | Humetrix | April 25, 2019

iBlueButton Serving Veterans since 2012 will also Demonstrate for the First Time Use of the New VA Lighthouse Blue Button 2.0 API

Del Mar, California - April 25, 2019- At the Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) Tenth Annual CES on the Hill, Humetrix will demonstrate iBlueButton, its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Blue Button 2.0 mobile health application, to give Americans covered by Medicare as well as Veterans and TRICARE enrollees the ability to securely access, store and share - under their direct and sole control - their health records. CES on the Hill will take place on Wednesday May 1st from 6:00 - 8:00 pm in the cafeteria of the Rayburn Office Building.

"For far too long, electronic health information has been stuck in silos and inaccessible for healthcare consumers," said CMS Administrator Seema Verma when announcing on February 11 the proposed CMS Patient Access and Interoperability rules (CMS-9115-P).

As the proposed CMS rules state "ready availability of health information can be especially helpful when an individual cannot access their usual source of care". This is a common occurrence for the millions of Medicare beneficiaries who, on average, every year see seven different providers in four different locations. Taking the lead to give Medicare beneficiaries access to their critical health information and help ensure safer transitions of care, "the CMS Medicare Blue Button 2.0 provide beneficiaries with a longitudinal view of their Medicare claims data and enables a beneficiary to pull Medicare health information along with other heath information into a single application not dictated by any specific health plan, provider, or portal".

iBlueButton is the first CMS approved native mobile health application under its Blue Button 2.0 program and, as of February, is now listed on the Medicare.gov website. iBlueButton transforms claim data in real time into an actionable longitudinal health record. Immediately available on the user's phone or tablet, iBlueButton provides up to date lists of medications (actually delivered by a pharmacy, and not simply prescribed), diagnoses, and prior tests and procedures for users to review and share with their physicians wherever they receive care.

iBlueButton delivers automated personal safety warnings about opioids, dangerous drug interactions, and best practices for chronic conditions. Every day, iBlueButton generates thousands of safety warnings for its users, and on average generates a safety warning for one out of three medications they take - a stunning number which shows how life saving iBlueButton can be.

Following the lead of CMS, the VA is now implementing a Blue Button API under its Lighthouse program. At CES on the Hill, Humetrix is proud to showcase its iBlueButton technology with connectivity to the VA Lighthouse API. iBlueButton has been serving Veterans since winning in 2012 its first HHS/ONC Blue Button competition. Thanks to iBlueButton, Veterans who do receive care inside and outside of the VA are able to share their medical history wherever they receive care using either their Android smartphone or iPhone.

Bettina Experton

Designed with privacy in mind, iBlueButton places personal health records and other sensitive personal health information in the hands of the user who pulls their own data directly from Medicare, the VA, the DoD health system or their Apple Health App into their own smartphone or tablet. With advanced analytics, cloud-based computing of de-identified data and localized personal data processing and storage, iBlueButton is ready to help million Americans in Medicare or Veterans avoid deadly medical errors - the third cause of death in America - while safeguarding individual privacy.

"Giving Medicare beneficiaries access to their critical medical information with CMS approved Blue Button 2.0 apps is a very important Public Health initiative. The next critical step for CMS is to inform all Medicare beneficiaries about the life and cost saving applications it has approved and listed on its website. The 10,000 Americans who sign up for Medicare every day should know about it, as well as all the existing Medicare beneficiaries who receive from Medicare periodic information on their benefits and preventive services via email or with their quarterly EOB mailers", says Bettina Experton, M.D., M.P.H., Humetrix Founder & CEO.

This now required important CMS communication effort is core to The Mobile Health Record Act of 2019, H.R. 1390, a bipartisan legislation recently introduced by Representative Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY) to support the nationwide deployment of CMS approved Blue Button applications.

Join us at CES on the Hill to see how policy and legislation are converging to support innovative technology that truly empowers consumers and brings necessary change to our healthcare system for safer and more cost-effective care!

About Humetrix -@Humetrix, #Humetrix

Humetrix offers a suite of mobile health platforms for consumers around the world that empower anyone to take control of their healthcare decisions, improve patient provider communications, and reduce health care costs. The company is committed to improving patient safety and enabling more cost-effective healthcare.

Press Contact

Travis Yatsko. Email: [email protected]. Cell: 858.449.1056