My Health Data

You are in control of your health data. Based on new federal guidelines, some members can opt to share health data with external apps and third parties, but only at the member's choice and directive. Currently, this is only available for individual members in Alaska (who bought a Premera health plan directly, not through an employer) and Medicare Advantage members in Washington.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided rules for how interoperability should work. These rules, in part, mean that you’ll have:

• More control over who can access your health information.
• More responsibility to protect your health information.

How do data exchanges work?

Interoperability provides a standard way for electronic systems to exchange data, so you can access your health information through third-party apps, or share your data with another health plan. It’s another way for you to obtain your health information and puts you in charge of your health. Premera’s program for interoperability is called My Health Data.

Premera takes the privacy and security of your protected health information seriously. If you are considering using a third-party app to access your health information, we recommend that you read through this web page and other interoperability resources provided by Premera.

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Accessing your health data

Premera recommends only accessing your health data through your Premera member account. The Premera member account is secure and compliant with HIPAA and other federal privacy laws to make sure your data is safe.

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Through interoperability, you can allow third-party apps to access your Premera health data or choose to share your health data with another health plan. Premera is required to offer a Patient Access API to third-party apps, which allows them to access your data if you give them permission. This makes it easier and cheaper for companies to develop non-Premera apps that can look at your health data and may be able to help you make decisions about your healthcare needs and healthcare spending.

Premera is also required to offer a Payer to Payer Data Exchange, which allows members to give permission for the following:

• Current Premera members can grant Premera access to health records from their previous health plan(s)
• Former Premera members can grant their new health plan access to health records from their Premera plan

This means some apps you choose to use, or another health plan might ask you for access to your Premera health data. You get to decide if you want to allow this and use the services that the app provides or share your data with another health plan, giving you more freedom and more choices on how to use your health data. Third-party apps cannot access your data unless you give them explicit permission. Your data will not be transferred through the Payer to Payer Data Exchange unless you give permission.

A third-party app might allow you more control over your data or different insights into your data than you get from your Premera member account. But it’s important to note that third-party apps are not required to comply with state or federal privacy laws, including HIPAA, and not all third-party apps will comply with basic privacy and security standards.

The Payer-to-Payer Data Exchange allows members to have their clinical records follow them from one health plan to another—but only if the member gives permission. This creates a more consistent patient experience between health plans.