For Patients

How the SVMS HIE helps you.

Most healthcare organizations are closed evenings, weekends and holidays. At those times, SacValley MedShare allows doctors to access information 24 hours a day. Many northern Californians travel for personal and professional reasons. Emergencies can happen far away from your primary care and medical records. Patient care is improved when specialists and primary care physicians communicate. Sharing test results, coordinating care, and providing timely feedback improves the quality of care.

What is SVMS?

SVMS is a Northern California, internet-based, health information exchange (HIE). SVMS is sponsored by Northern California health care providers and health insurers who share and use your information for treatment and payment purposes. They can see certain health, demographic and payment information (your health information) in each other’s records. They can use this information for treatment and payment purposes. For example:

Your participating doctors can quickly find certain health information about you, such as your lab and imaging results, from other participating providers who have treated you in the past.

Your participating doctors, hospital or pharmacy can quickly verify your insurance coverage by checking your enrollment status with participating health insurers.
Your participating providers can make required reports to public health agencies regarding immunizations, communicable diseases, etc.
Your participating health insurer can electronically obtain health information needed to process your claim from the records of participating providers.
Emergency room doctors and care teams can quickly access necessary information about your health in order to maximize your care.

The information is safe, the system is HIPAA compliant, and only those providers who need access to the information, can access it.

Who will have access to my health information?

Many California providers and health insurers participate in SVMS. You can obtain a current list at http://sacvalleyms.org . Participating providers (such as doctors, hospitals and pharmacies) and health insurers (for their own insureds or for insureds in group health plans they administer), public health agencies, and their staff and contractors will have access for treatment, payment and public health purposes.

SVMS staff and contractors will have access to provide technical and administrative support. All access will be on a need-to-know basis for treatment, payment and public health purposes. Medical researchers may have access to certain de-identified health information and/or limited data sets.

How does sharing health information improve patient care?

Health care providers need your complete health information to accurately diagnose and treat you. Each of your providers may have different portions of your medical record. If they can access each other’s records and see more complete health information, they can provide you with better care. Sharing your health information can help reduce medical care costs by eliminating unnecessary duplication of tests and procedures.

What health information will be shared?

Lab and X-ray results
Medication and immunization history
Transcribed diagnostic and treatment records
Records of allergies and drug reactions
Other transcribed clinical reports

Information created after the start date of SVMS in 2015 will be available through SVMS, but only if the provider who has the information is a participating provider and makes the information available. Older health records will not be available through SVMS.

Participating providers will not share records related to: (1) alcohol or substance abuse treatment programs or mental health treatment (or information likely to be used by such programs, unless you have provided specific consent to your provider for these records to be shared), (2) emergency protective custody proceedings, (3) predictive genetic testing performed for genetic counseling purposes, (4) HIV testing, or (5) STD testing or treatment of minors consented to by the minor. However, information about test results may be available or referred to elsewhere in the record.

Privacy and Security

SacValley MedShare follows all the same state and federal HIPPA privacy regulations as your local doctors and hospitals. Your providers already share patient information necessary to provide safe and timely care. Phone calls, faxes, and postal mail are not the fastest or safest methods for communicating.

SacValley MedShare sigue todas las mismas regulaciones estatales y federales de privacidad de HIPPA que sus médicos y hospitales locales. Sus proveedores ya comparten la información del paciente necesaria para brindar atención segura y oportuna. Las llamadas telefónicas, los faxes y el correo postal no son los métodos más rápidos o seguros para comunicarse.

SacValley provides a service that allows your doctors to send and receive that information quickly and securely. We never sell patient information for any reason.

SacValley proporciona un servicio que le permite a sus médicos enviar y recibir esa información de forma rápida y segura. Nunca vendemos información del paciente por ninguna razón.

Your Right to Privacy

Patients have the right to join or leave the information exchange at any time by submitting the appropriate forms to SacValley MedShare. Please see the section below on Opting Out/Revoking Opt out.

Los pacientes tienen derecho a unirse o abandonar el intercambio de información en cualquier momento mediante la presentación de los formularios correspondientes a SacValley MedShare. Consulte la siguiente sección sobre Opting Out/Revoking Opt out.

Patients have the right to request an accounting of disclosures at any from the facility where they received medical care. Please contact your facility to request an accounting of disclosures.

Los pacientes tienen el derecho de solicitar un informe de divulgaciones en cualquiera de las instalaciones donde recibieron atención médica. Comuníquese con su centro para solicitar un informe de las divulgaciones.

Opting Out/Revoking Opt Out

The SVMS health information exchange was created to allow your providers of care to share pertinent medical information about you which is all secured and protected in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

El intercambio de información de salud de SVMS fue creado para permitir que sus proveedores de cuidado compartan la información médica pertinente sobre usted que está asegurada y protegida de acuerdo con la Ley de Portabilidad y Responsabilidad del Seguro Médico

To opt out, or revoke a previous opt out, use one of the forms below.
Para inhabilitar o revocar una opción de exclusión anterior, utilice uno de los formularios siguientes

Opting Out Risk Explanation

If you do not want anyone – including your healthcare providers or any emergency department – to have access to your health information in SVMS’ HIE, please complete the opt-out form below, place it in a secure envelope, and return it to SVMS at the address provided. By mailing the completed opt-out form, you are requesting that SVMS no longer permit your health care providers - including emergency care providers - to have any access to your health information contained in the HIE. We offer this option as it is desired by some patients. We do not recommend opting-out. It is dangerous for physicians to treat you without knowing your health problems, medications and allergies. If you elect to opt-out, your request will be acted upon within approximately five (5) business days after receipt by SVMS, and will only apply to access after such date. You are welcome to opt back in at any time by completing an Opt-Out Revocation Form that can be downloaded from http://sacvalleyms.org. However, any opt-back-in request from you may take up to five (5) business days after receipt by SVMS to be in effect. Also, SVMS may not have current health information to make available to your health care providers for some time after the effective date.

Si no desea que nadie, incluidos sus proveedores de atención médica o cualquier departamento de emergencia, tenga acceso a su información de salud en HIE de SVMS, complete el formulario de exclusión a continuación, colóquelo en un sobre seguro y envíelo a SVMS al la dirección provista Al enviar por correo el formulario de exclusión completo, solicita que SVMS deje de permitir que sus proveedores de atención médica, incluidos los proveedores de atención de emergencia, tengan acceso a su información de salud contenida en el HIE. Ofrecemos esta opción como lo desean algunos pacientes. No recomendamos optar por salir. Es peligroso para los médicos tratarlo sin conocer sus problemas de salud, medicamentos y alergias. Si decide optar por no participar, su solicitud será procesada dentro de aproximadamente cinco (5) días hábiles después de la recepción por parte de SVMS, y solo se aplicará al acceso después de dicha fecha. Puede volver a participar en cualquier momento completando un Formulario de revocación de exclusión que se puede descargar desde http://sacvalleyms.org. Sin embargo, cualquier solicitud de devolución voluntaria puede demorar hasta cinco (5) días hábiles posteriores a la recepción de SVMS para que esté vigente. Además, es posible que SVMS no tenga la información de salud actual para poner a disposición de sus proveedores de atención médica durante algún tiempo después de la fecha de vigencia.