How about transparency of medical records - i.e. if I provide some credentials, can I definitively get a copy of my medical history so that I can easily take it with me to another country/hospital?
By definitively I mean within some federal regulation or system that doesn't depend on an employee at a particular hospital getting around to it on their coffee break.
You certainly can under HIPAA, and I’ve done this several times without unreasonable delay. If you’ve had issues, I’m sure the “sternly worded letter from a lawyer” approach would get the gears turning.
They are not all interconnected. Most providers have some sort of connectivity to a regional health information exchange network, but there are a lot of gaps and interoperability problems.
Blue Button 2.0 is helpful but currently it only gives authorized providers access to your Medicare claims (if you're a Medicare beneficiary), which have limited clinical value. Getting a copy of your full chart requires going through other channels.
By definitively I mean within some federal regulation or system that doesn't depend on an employee at a particular hospital getting around to it on their coffee break.