FAQs for Patients

What is interoperability?

Interoperability refers to the ability of health information systems to move seamlessly within and across organizations and different electronic health record systems. Interoperability is important to improving healthcare delivery for individuals and communities.  Vanderbilt’s secure Health IT systems allow us to share and exchange health information with our patients and give them free, safe, and seamless access to their Electronic Health Information from their cell phones or computers. Information sharing and exchange requires appropriate VUMC policies, processes, and clinical workflows. 

What is information blocking?

Information Blocking is any practice that interferes with timely access to, exchange of, or use of patient’s electronic health information. Information Blocking includes technologies, policies, or practices which limit which health information patients can access in tools like My Health at Vanderbilt. This includes time delays currently in place before certain lab results, radiology reports, pathology reports, and clinical notes are available to patients in MHAV. The federal government has released new rules that prohibit Information Blocking starting on April 5, 2021. After the rules go into place, any Information Blocking by VUMC could lead to significant financial penalties for VUMC.  Although there are exceptions to requests for information, they are strict and complicated. VUMC will strive to meet the highest standard for complying with these new rules.  

What are these new federal rules?

The 21st Century Cures Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016. The 21st Century Cures Act placed strong emphasis on putting patients in charge of their health records, and mandated that hospitals provide patients with easy and secure access to their health information Electronically.

There are two governmental agencies in charge of making this happen:

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and
• The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Both of these agencies proposed new rules to address this in 2019 and finalized those Rules on May 1, 2020. These rules are collectively called “The Interoperability Rules.” The CMS Final Interoperability Rule defines the requirements for healthcare system participation, and the ONC Final Interoperability Rule defines the necessary activities and technical requirements to avoid Information Blocking. The Interoperability Rules will roll out over the next few years, with the first stage starting on April 5, 2021. Contact the Interoperability Project Management Office, CHIM, or the Compliance Office if you have questions about the Rules or where to find them in the Federal Register.

What changes are coming, and when?

Changes will happen in 3 phases:

Phase 1: January 20, 2021:

• Your doctors, nurses, and other providers may choose to share visit notes with you in My Health at Vanderbilt.
• For all adult patients (18+), all test results* will be immediately released to My Health at Vanderbilt.

Phase 2: February 17, 2021:

• For all pediatric patients 1(2 years and younger,) all test results* will be immediately released to My Health at Vanderbilt.

Phase 3: Late March 2021 (likely March 24):

• For all adolescent patients (13-18 years), most test results* will be immediately released to My Health at Vanderbilt.
• For all patient ages, notes will be automatically released to My Health at Vanderbilt once they are signed by the healthcare team.

Additional details will be available.

*Certain test results will be withheld for all patients due to concerns over patients' physical safety. This list currently includes Huntingtons disease and non-accidental trauma skeletal surveys. 

What do I do if I have concerns about who can see my notes and results in My Health at Vanderbilt?

Many patients choose to share their records using My Health at Vanderbilt. In most cases, you can grant or remove access to a Delegate in your Account Settings. You can also share your record using the Share Everywhere feature. 

You may also want to talk to your healthcare team about these concerns. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers can help you decide if a note should be blocked from My Health at Vanderbilt. 

How do I request a correction to a note in my records?

• First, you may send a message to the provider who wrote your note using My Health at Vanderbilt. If the provider agrees that your request is needed, he or she may make the change in your record.

  • Providers may decide that the requested change is inappropriate or unnecessary for care purposes. If you are not satisfied with their response, please contact the Health Information Management Office (details below).

• If you do not use My Health at Vanderbilt, or if you prefer to submit a written request, submit your request, including your reason for asking for the change, to the VUMC Health Information Management Office:

                 VUMC Health Information Management

                 3841 Green Hills Village Drive, Suite 200

                 Nashville, TN 37215

                (615) 322-2062