Getting your medical records

If you're going to see a new doctor, or perhaps you have a child who's transitioning from a pediatric endocrinologist to an adult endocrinologist, then you'll want to have your (or the child's) medical records. Even if you were diligent about getting copies of everything as you went along, chances are it's an inconvenient mess of paperwork. And, if you're like most people, at least a few pages are missing, despite your best intentions.

What if you could get all that information as a single electronic download?

You may be able to in the United States.

There's a federal program called "Blue Button" that has a logo that -- you guessed it -- is a blue button. It signifies that you can download your medical information (not including images like x-rays, unfortunately, and sometimes not including the doctor's notes from an appointment) by clicking on that button.

You may find the button on your health care provider's main website, but if not, you can look it up at http://bluebuttonconnector.healthit.gov/ If your provider is listed at that site, it will give you a link to instructions for how to download your documents.

In some cases, you will need to create an account with your health care provider if you don't already have one. In some cases, it may take a few days for your new account to be approved, so don't wait until the last minute before you need the records. Sometimes, they send the activation code by snail mail, which can take several days, as opposed to the almost instantaneous responses we've grown used to online.

Once your account is approved, you can log in and then access a variety of types of information, including the medications you're currently taking (or took in the past), your recorded allergies, treatment information (e.g., diagnoses and sometimes summaries of the visit) and lab test results. The downloads can then be printed, saved to a flash drive or forwarded to your health care provider electronically.

There's even a blue button for Medicare patients, which you can access here: https://www.medicare.gov/manage-your-health/blue-button/medicare-blue-button.html