Watch CBS News

White House Wants User-Friendly Electronic Health Records

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration says it's launching a new effort to make electronic medical records easier for patients to use. Medicare will play a key role.

The MyHealthEData initiative will be overseen by the White House Office of American Innovation, headed by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Electronic medical records were ushered in with great fanfare but it's generally acknowledged they've fallen short. Different systems don't communicate. Patient portals can be clunky to navigate.

Some hospitals still provide records on compact discs that newer computers can't read.

Medicare administrator Seema Verma said her agency is working on a program called Blue Button 2.0, with the goal of providing beneficiaries with secure access to their claims data, shareable with their doctors.

The announcement came at a health care tech conference in Las Vegas.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.