Delay in interoperability work announced by federal government
Late last week, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a delay in the compliance timeframes to meet key parts of new federal rules that are part of the 21st Century Cures Act.
VUMC’s cross-functional team, which was assembled to prepare for the impacts of these rules, then quickly decided to delay VUMC’s rollout of how VUMC makes patient information, such as test results and medical record notes, visible in My Health at Vanderbilt.
While the new compliance date is April 5, 2021, the team has yet to decide on the date to which the rollout will be deferred. This information will be shared as soon as there is an opportunity to update the plan.
The additional time is welcome, as it will help the team:
- · Develop an implementation plan that allows VUMC to better adapt to a culture of sharing information with our patients
- Deliver more robust education and communication to impacted team members—most notably, VUMC’s clinicians
- Receive additional clarity from VUMC’s legal counsel on the specific instances in which information can be “blocked” from a patient
Specific questions may be directed to the team at interoperability@vumc.org.