Chris W. brings up Blue Button on the Ask me a Question page, and a few weeks ago it popped up again into my radar screen. In case you've been in hiding for the past year, Blue Button is the name of a VA initiative to enable vets to download their clinical information in an ASCII text format from the VA patient portal MyHealtheVet . It's based on a Markle Foundation specification which has gotten quite a bit of attention . Recently the Office of Personnel Management sent a letter to health plans participating in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). I found an interesting quote in the letter (I underlined the interesting part): Supplying your members with the simple, low-cost and readily available Blue Button function will strengthen your contractual HIT obligations under FEHBP, align with the Meaningful Use standards laid out by Health and Human Services (HHS), and most importantly, empower your mem...