Resources

Blue Button Enhancements Coming September 29 and October 9, 2012

The rollout of the upgraded Blue Button on September 29 means an enhancement for our Veterans who download their health care data from VA's electronic health records. For our industry partners it means enhancements and improvements for their supporting software’s functionality.

Based on Veteran user feedback, the changes within the Blue Button data are intended to add new features (VA Immunizations data, available October 9) and overall increase usability and provide a clearer presentation. These changes are:

1. Each section is now labeled as "VA" or "Self Reported" in the title of the chapter; e.g. "Self Reported Immunizations", "VA Immunizations"
2. New data set: VA Immunizations. This will be available in late October following our final user testing.
3. It is now easier for users to make selections in the user interface.
4. Military Service Information (MSI) data quality has been improved (coming in November).
5. If a user has no data in a particular section, there is a statement that "No information was available that matched your selection," instead of blank space.

Detailed sample files are available, below.

Current:    All data (ASCII)  |  Adobe PDF

New:         All data (ASCII)  |  Adobe PDF

Sample Blue Button ASCII & PDF Files

Sample files are de-identified ASCII files to help illustrate what a Veteran sees when using the Blue Button to download his or her data.

All data  |  By date range  |  By data class  |  Adobe PDF Format

Questions about Blue Button

If you have questions about how to use Blue Button, please visit My HealtheVet's Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have questions about DoD Military Service Information available in Blue Button, please visit this Frequently Asked Questions page dedicated to Military Service Information.

More Information about VA's Blue Button

VA's Blue Button Fact Sheet  |  Military Service Information Fact Sheet 

Other Resources

Blue Button Data.org 

Smart phone application from Northrop Grumman

Personal Health Record from Microsoft

Smart phone application offered by Humetrix

If you have other resources that should be included here, please contact us at vabluebutton@va.gov.