The Veterans Affairs Department, which has been a pacesetter in healthcare information technology for more than 30 years, is proving to be a role model once more. This time it is giving patients easier access to their own health information.

The New York-based Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health program has released a policy paper co-signed by 46 organizations, including more than a dozen health IT companies, in support of the so-called “blue button” technology being developed by the VA in conjunction with the Medicare and Medicaid programs at the CMS.

The technology aims to make it easy for patients to go online and download copies of their medical records.

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As families gather for reunions this summer and fall, they should consider sharing something more important than Aunt Martha’s macaroni salad recipe.

It’s important to know your family medical history, and large family gatherings are the best place to gather the details, according to health officials.

“Knowing your family medical history can save your life,” said Karen Brooks, a genetic counselor and assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

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It’s not a new law, but it’s a tangible, short-term step toward protecting the privacy of patient data that travels online. To address loopholes in current patient privacy legislation, the Health and Human Services Department on Thursday proposed privacy rules that would apply to vendors of technology that transmit personal health data.

The existing privacy law, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), mostly applies to providers and healthcare plans. It does not cover third-party health information technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, which now handle mounds of personal health data because patients, doctors and hospitals are increasingly turning to the Internet to improve care. Google and Microsoft offer so-called personal health records that patients create and control.

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