This YouTube video provided by the National Learning Consortium gives a quick overview of why patients and consumers might be interested in using the Blue Button application which allows people to download personal health information.

From the HealthIT.Gov website: "Blue Button" is a way for you to get easy, secure online access to your health information. To "Blue Button" means you can "download your health data" so you can use it to improve your health and be more engaged in your healthcare. As Americans, we each have the legal right to access our own health information held by doctors, hospitals and others that provide health care services for us. But many of us don't, either because we don't know we can, or because we're not sure what to do with our health information once we have it. Until recently, most medical information was stored in paper files, so it wasn't very easy to access or use anyhow. But all that is changing as more health care providers (doctors and hospitals) adopt electronic health record systems and other health information technology (health IT). Patients will have more opportunities to get access to their health records electronically and to engage with their clinical teams about their medical records.

From the HealthIT.Gov website: Until now, relatively few Americans have had the opportunity to use this kind of technology to enhance some of the most important relationships: those related to your health. Relationships with your doctors, your pharmacy, your hospital, and other organizations that make up your circle of care are now about to benefit from the next transformation in information technology: health IT.

For patients and consumers, this transformation will enhance both relationships with providers and providers’ relationships with each other. This change will place you at the center of your care – in effect, helping to put the “I” in health IT.

From HealthIT.gov: Health Information Technology, or Health IT for short, is upgrading our healthcare system for the 21st Century. Today's technology is converting the information in our paper records into an electronic format which allows you and your doctors to have access to your health information when and where it's needed. Learn more about the benefits of health IT and how online, secure access to your health record can help make sure you get the best care.