Table 1.

My HealtheVet (MHV) tool descriptions

Feature	Description
Secure Messaging	Secure messaging is an MHV tool available to VHA patients with Premium accounts. It allows patients to communicate with their VHA health care teams by securely sending and receiving messages, and maintaining a record of past conversations.
Blue Button	Blue Button is an MHV tool available to users with Advanced or Premium accounts; however, its functionality is expanded for VHA patients with Premium accounts. It allows patients with any type of account to enter, view, print, and download self-entered health information; patients with Advanced accounts to view, print, and download allergy and medication history from their VHA electronic health record; and patients with Premium accounts to view, print, and download information from their VHA electronic health record, including: Admissions and discharges Allergies Future and past appointments Demographics Electrocardiogram history Immunizations Laboratory results Medications Pathology reports Problem list Clinical Progress notes Radiology reports Vitals and readings Wellness reminders DoD military service information Premium users may also download or send a summary of their essential health and medical care information, referred to as a VA Health Summary. The tool allows the user to select the types of information to include and a date range for what they would like to view, print, or download.
Rx Refill	Rx Refill is available to VHA patients with Advanced or Premium accounts. It provides a secure way to refill previously filled, active VHA prescriptions online. The tool displays information about active prescriptions and allows patients to track when their medications are shipped and which delivery service is handling their package. It also allows patients to view their prescription histories and self-entered medications and supplements.
View Labs	View Labs allows VHA patients with Premium MHV accounts to view results from their laboratory tests, as they become available. This information can also be viewed using Blue Button, but View Labs provides easy access to information specific to VHA laboratory results. VHA patients may also view self-entered laboratory tests using View Labs, and do not need a Premium account.
View Appointments	View Appointments allows VHA patients with Premium MHV accounts to view upcoming VHA clinic appointments as well as appointments that took place in the last two years. This information can also be viewed using Blue Button, but View Appointments provides easy access to information specific to VHA appointments.

Two MHV account types (Advanced and Premium) with different levels of functionality are available at no cost to all veterans who receive VHA care. For privacy and data security reasons, when VHA patients first register for MHV, they receive an Advanced account which provides access to Rx Refill, limited information from VHA and Department of Defense records (eg, prescription history and allergies), as well as functionality to self-enter health-related information including VHA or non-VHA lab results (eg, CD4 counts and viral load). As soon as the veteran authenticates their identity through one of several means, the account converts to a Premium account, enabling full access to all MHV tools, such as Secure Messaging, and extracts from his/her VHA electronic medical record (eg, clinical notes, VHA lab results, appointments, immunizations, etc.). MHV registration was defined as a veteran signing up for an Advanced or Premium MHV account at any point between November 10, 2004 (when earliest MHV registration data was available) and September 30, 2017. We operationalized use of the specified MHV tools as any recorded action related to each of the MHV tools between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2017 by VHA patients living with HIV and accessing VHA care during that same time period.

Abbreviation: MHV, My HealtheVet; VHA, Veterans Health Administration.