Markle: Downloadable health info is crucial for meaningful use

A simple way for patients to download their health information is a crucial part of improving healthcare quality and efficiency, and can enhance safety, promote patient engagement and protect privacy, according to Markle Connecting for Health, a public-private healthcare IT collaborative sponsored by the Markle Foundation.

The Markle Connecting for Health Common Framework for Networked Personal Health Information, or Markle Common Framework, “details policies and practices to enhance individual access to personal health information and protect privacy,” according to the report.

“Delivering personal health information to an individual’s desktop or device is only a small step. But this initial step represents a big change in current practice and it can enable a whole host of innovations and services that can add significant value for individuals over time,” the paper stated.

“As public and private sector organizations, we are working together to make it commonplace for individuals to be able to routinely download their pertinent health information from providers and other entities that generate and collect it,” the authors wrote.

To make this possible, the Markle Work Group advised organizations that display personal health information electronically via Web browsers include an option for individuals to download the information. The group also recommended organizations implement policies and practices to protect individuals and information “to prevent abuse and consumer mistrust.”

In addition, the group called for collaboration on sample data sets, and urged organizations to support the download capability as part of meaningful use and qualified or certified health IT, and include the download capability in procurement requirements for federal- and state-sponsored health IT projects, “as well as a priority in health information exchanges (HIEs) and private-sector purchasing initiatives for personal health information services.”

In addition, the download capability would encourage innovation, the Markle Work Group stated. “In a powerful new opportunity for innovation, the individual’s secure access to personal health information can enable new platforms, applications and services to provide value in a rich variety of ways. The explosion of iPhone applications is a particularly salient example. Application developers make use of the iPhone platform, and pull together a rich variety of data sets, including information contributed by iPhone users themselves, to create a wide array of offerings.

“While experimentation and failure are a part of all innovation cycles, the potential is great to learn how health information can be used in helping people better manage their health and healthcare.”

A complete PDF of “Policies in Practice: The Download Capability” is available here.