My Health Online Care and Clinical Questions

Generally, My Health Online can be used to schedule follow-up or preventive visits (Health Maintenance Exam, Well-Child Check) with your existing care team. Follow-up visits with specialty providers are also available depending on the Sutter affiliate and specialty, as well as video visits for non-urgent concerns.

You are able to schedule an appointment directly with your primary care provider as well as most primary care clinicians that you have seen within the last three years. In addition, you may be able to schedule with your specialty provider, depending on the Sutter affiliate and specialty.

Currently, My Health Online only supports messaging, scheduling and billing functionality for services performed at most outpatient care centers and clinician offices. If you have a question about a service you received in a hospital, please contact that facility directly.

To report an inaccuracy about a provider’s note in your After-Visit Summary or patient record, please call the number associated with your location.

• For services received at a location in the Sutter Health network:
  • Hospital Billing (855) 398-1633
  • Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (866) 681-0735
  • Sutter Medical Foundation (866) 681-0736
  • Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation (866) 681-0739
  • Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation (866) 681-0745
  • Palo Alto Medical Foundation (877) 252-1777
• For services received at a location not listed above (e.g. a community doctor’s office): 
  • Call your doctor’s office directly.

ucy and MyChartCentral are record-sharing products offered by Epic, a healthcare software company that provides Sutter’s electronic health record.

Lucy allows you to update and share elements of your general healthcare record (such as your Medications or Allergies) with providers at other healthcare organizations.

MyChartCentral allows you to centralize your online accounts across different healthcare organizations in one location.

Both of these products require that your healthcare organizations use Epic and are part of their program. If you have questions about whether one of your other healthcare organizations supports Lucy or MyChartCentral, you can contact them.

To access Lucy or MyChartCentral, you must create an account.

Read Epic’s FAQs on Lucy and MyChartCentral.

In 2020, the Office of the National Coordinator for Healthcare Information Technology (ONC) announced a Final Rule to implement provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act. These rules require healthcare professionals to electronically release most clinical notes and test results by this fall. This means you will have easier access to information about your care including summary notes from your doctor, nurse or other healthcare professionals about your most recent visit. You will be able to see these notes and test results using a computer, smartphone or tablet. This new practice of sharing notes and test results is often referred to as open notes.

If you prefer the doctor not provide their notes and results in your My Health Online account, you can request your care provider keep the notes confidential at the time of your visit.

Your records will be available to you for the foreseeable future within My Health Online (MHO), Sutter’s patient portal. If are unable to access MHO, you may request copies of your records.

Patients will not receive any notification when new notes are available in their MHO account. Patients will receive notification for an After Visit Summary, new message or Test Result once per day for each type of notice.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals providing care to you and who have access to Sutter’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) can see your notes and results. Details care teams see in notes and results help to inform the care they provide.

Your notes and results are private to you. However, you can share your notes and results with other clinicians, family or friends as you see fit. On MHO, you can click on Health Record and then on Share My Record to see what sharing options are available to you. In a similar way, Sutter clinicians caring for you can see notes from non-Sutter providers by either being on the same EHR or by requesting access.

If you don’t have an MHO account, there are three ways you can enroll. You can enroll online by accessing the MHO home page here, by calling (866) 978-8837 or by enrolling at your Sutter doctor’s office.

If you don’t have access to electronic devices, you can request your medical records.

Care Companion is an interactive plan you can access through My Health Online. The tool delivers task reminders, analyzes health data and provides education to help you and your healthcare team stay on top of your care.

Care Companion-Healthy Pregnancy is a tool within My Health Online for expectant patients experiencing low-risk pregnancies. It’s designed to deliver timely education throughout your pregnancy, including guidance related to your baby’s growth, healthy eating and exercise tips for you, and advice on preparing for labor and delivery. The interactive care plan also allows providers to send questionnaires so they can learn more about your health.

If you’re pregnant and interested in participating, download the MHO app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. To access Care Companion – Healthy Pregnancy, sign in to MHO and look for the prompt to start tracking your pregnancy. If you don’t see it, ask your OB/Gyn about Care Companion – Healthy Pregnancy at your next appointment so they can add the tool on your behalf.

Care Companion for New Babies helps parents navigate life with a newborn. You’ll receive timely tips on breastfeeding, calming a fussy baby, immunizations, childproofing your home, developmental milestones and more. Your baby will be automatically enrolled upon discharge from a Sutter hospital. Even if your baby isn’t born at a Sutter hospital, they’ll be automatically enrolled after their first Sutter appointment is scheduled. Ask your OB/Gyn if you’re interested in learning more about this care plan.

Care Companion for Gestational Diabetes gives you the opportunity to take an active role in managing your condition. Tasks include checking your glucose levels, logging meals and staying active. Ask your OB/Gyn if you’re interested in learning more about this care plan.

Care Companion for Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia empowers you to take a more active role in their health if you’re at risk for these conditions.  You’ll be prompted daily to check and record your blood pressure and receive follow up tasks when an abnormal reading is recorded. Ask your OB/Gyn if you’re interested in learning more about this care plan.

Care Companion for Total Joint Replacement is available if you’re undergoing total hip or knee replacements. With the TJR Care Companion, you can see tasks and find answers to questions. Topics include:

• Pre-op education to prepare for your procedure.
• Post-op education on recovery and exercises.
• Daily step tracking.
• Daily PT exercise reminders.
• Post-op questionnaire to monitor recovery.

Make sure you have push notifications enabled for My Health Online. You’ll get alerts on your phone’s lock screen when you have new items to complete. When you’re signed in to My Health Online, your tasks will appear in the To Do area of the app.

To make sure your care plan works with your schedule, you can choose when you receive notifications for tasks and whether notifications are sent for each task or all tasks at once.

1. Open the To Do activity, tap Options at the top of the screen and select Manage To Do Reminders.
2. If you want to change how frequently you receive notifications from My Health Online for tasks that are due, go to the How Often? section and:
   1. Select When My Tasks Are Due to receive an individual notification when each task is due.
   2. Select Only Once Daily to receive one combined notification for all the tasks that are due each day.
3. If you want to change what time you receive notifications throughout the day, tap Manage Reminder Schedule. You can set times to receive reminders for tasks that are due in the Morning, Midday, Evening, Bedtime and By End of Day.

You can view progress by tapping the Progress tab at the bottom of the To Do activity. From here, you can view the number of tasks completed out of the number assigned and an overall percentage of your task completion. Use the buttons at the top to view data for the last 7 days, 30 days, or for 90 days at a time.

Yes, pressing Continue launches the Care Companion website. You can use the back arrow to return to My Health Online.

This means you haven’t selected a response yet and you’re leaving the screen, or your responses haven’t been submitted. Make sure you select a response and press Continue and Submit.

If you decide you no longer want to participate in Care Companion, you can unenroll and remove the care plan from your My Health Online account. Follow the steps below to unenroll.

Using the My Health Online app, navigate to the home screen and select the following:

• In the My Record section, select Questionnaires. You’ll see an optional questionnaire called Unenroll from MHO Care Plan. Select the questionnaire and complete the two required questions, then submit.
• You’ll be routed back to the Questionnaires menu where you’ll see the unenroll questionnaire still available to you. If you’ve been successfully unenrolled, you’ll receive an error message stating you have no questions to answer.
• Once you sign out and sign back in to My Health Online, you’ll see that all tasks have been removed. You’ll no longer have access to any of the materials associated with the care plan. Please note that past tasks will still show in the progress section.

An E-Visit is a questionnaire you can answer within My Health Online that can replace a clinic appointment. You’ll be asked to accept specific terms and conditions at the beginning of an E-Visit. A provider will review your responses within two business days and then determine next steps, which could include a Video Visit or in-person appointment, depending on your condition. However, in many cases, doctors can provide care through messages in My Health Online.

E-Visits should be used only for non-urgent medical conditions since it may take up to two business days to receive a response. For medical emergencies, call 911 immediately or visit the nearest emergency room.

Learn about insurance coverage and payment for E-Visits.

An E-Visit may be initiated based on an MHO message you send to your provider.  If you choose to accept an E-Visit, you’ll receive a questionnaire through your My Health Online account related to the symptoms you’re experiencing.

Depending on the steps presented and questions asked about your symptoms, it can take 10-20 minutes to complete your E-Visit questionnaire. You may be asked for your insurance details or medication lists. Please be prepared to fill in this information — you cannot save your progress and finish later. You can expect a response from a clinician within approximately two business days.

Your insurance will be billed for the E-Visit. Co-pays and deductibles may apply. Some insurance companies do not cover E-Visits and you will be responsible for the charge. For any questions about coverage, or co-pays and patient responsibility, you should contact your insurance company for accurate information.

Please note that:

• If you don’t complete the E-Visit, you won’t be charged. 
• If, instead of an E-Visit, you’re directed to a clinic, you won’t be charged for the E-Visit.
• If you’re directed to make an in-person appointment after an E-Visit, you won’t be charged for the E-Visit if your clinic appointment is for the same condition and within 7 days of when the E-Visit was originally issued. 
• You have the option to decline an E-Visit or cancel it before submitting your questionnaire.

Your clinician is part of a Care Team that may include other clinicians, physician assistants, nurses and others. Depending on the message type, content and situation, it may be answered by your clinician or another member of your Care Team.

You can send a message to your current primary care provider, as well as any clinician who participates with online messaging that you have visited in the last three years (with the exception of psychiatrists and travel medicine clinicians). If you have not seen a particular clinician within the past three years, you should call to make an appointment. After that you will be able to message them in My Health Online again.

Your Care Team is comprised of your doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, nurses and support staff who work closely together to provide prompt, quality and convenient care for you and your family. By taking a team approach, we strive to ensure you receive the right care by the right person at the right time, every time.

You can send a message to your Care Team in My Health Online to:

• Request follow-up care related to a recent surgery or appointment.
• Give updates to your care team (when no response is required).
• Refill a prescription.
• Ask a question about a medication or test result.

If you have a new health issue or symptom, need medical advice or are requesting a new prescription, please schedule an in-person or Video Visit. If you’re having an emergency, call 911 or go directly to the nearest emergency room.

When you send a message to your care team, you will typically receive a response within one to two business days.

If your question is urgent, please contact one of our Urgent Care centers or call 911. My Health Online messaging is intended for non-urgent concerns.

Currently, My Health Online only supports messaging, scheduling, and billing functionality for services performed at Sutter Health outpatient care centers and clinician offices. If you have a question about a service you received in a hospital, please contact the hospital directly.

As part of a visit or any discussion with you, your healthcare provider writes a note summarizing the most important information discussed, such as details about symptoms, a description of the examination, an overview of relevant test results, and details about the diagnosis, treatment plan and next steps. The movement to make these notes available to patients began in 2010. This practice is called OpenNotes. Studies have shown that patients like open notes and report many health benefits.

You have the right to keep your notes and results private. If you do not want any specific notes or results to be available in MHO, you can simply ask your care team not to release them. To learn more, click here: https://www.healthit.gov/topic/information-blocking

Notes will become available in MHO at the end of each visit with your care provider once they are signed by a healthcare professional.

An OpenNote does not change the private relationship you have with your healthcare team. Only you, those you have granted proxy access (see below) and the care team involved in your care can access your note.

What does change is your ability to access, use and share your information. It is easier to share your medical information with a care partner, family member, or others if you choose. You are in control of who has access to your note, which means you are in control of your privacy.

To help ensure your privacy, please remember to:

• Keep your MHO login ID and password private; and
• Wherever you access your MHO account, be sure to exit by selecting “sign out” or “log out” when you are done.

For tips on making the most of open notes, click here.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals involved in your child’s care already have access to the information in their medical record. They operate under strict confidentiality rules, and an open note does not change that relationship.

Parents and care partners can choose to share medical information with others involved in a child’s care. This can keep families, caregivers, and specialists informed and up to date on treatments and progress. This may be especially important for patients with multiple specialists.

To help ensure the privacy of your child’s health information, keep your MHO login name and password private, and whenever you look at your child’s health record, always remember to sign out.

For many years, patients have had the right to request clinician notes and results through a request to Health Information Management (HIM). What’s new is that effective Oct. 29, 2020, most clinical notes and results will be released immediately in electronic form in My Health Online. This practice is called “OpenNotes” and first began in 2010. For several years, many Sutter clinicians have released their notes to patients after visits. Clinical notes provide different information than what is included in an After Visit Summary (AVS). While the AVS contains a summary of a patient’s visit, including orders placed, instructions, etc., a clinical note provides a direct view of the clinical observations and assessment of your health written by the healthcare professional to document a patient visit. This includes virtual, phone and in-person visits. The new law will require all healthcare professionals to practice open notes.

Learn more about OpenNotes.

The best way to understand your notes and be certain everything is correct is to ask your care team to review notes with you at the end of your visit. If you have questions about your clinical note after the note is posted, write them down. You can send your question to your clinician’s office by message through MHO or discuss them at your next appointment. You can also ask your doctor, nurse or other healthcare professional for websites or other resources that might help you better understand your note. Learn how to make the most out of these notes.

If you don’t see a specific clinical note, it is possible your provider did not complete or sign it yet. Both are required before notes can be released to MHO.

Additionally, there are specific reasons why your provider may elect not share a note. They are:

1. If a provider has concern that releasing a note would result in a harm to the life or physical safety of the patient or another person.
2. To respect privacy, meaning the patient (or proxy) has requested that the note not be displayed to MHO.

You should see notes and results from all Sutter healthcare professionals providing direct care to you. Currently Home Health services, and some surgical hospitals use different electronic health record systems, and their clinical notes are not yet available through MHO. If you require access to these records, please contact that care center.

California sensitive results (HIV, Hepatitis antigens, pathology results, and abuse of drug results) will not be shared immediately but are available to be released at patient request. Please submit a request to your provider if you would like these electronically released to MHO.

Historical notes documented prior to 10/29 will not be immediately available within MHO; however you may request electronic access to these records.

To report an inaccuracy about a provider’s note in your After-Visit Summary or patient record, please call the number associated with your location.

• For services received at a location in the Sutter Health network:
  • Hospital Billing (855) 398-1633
  • Sutter Gould Medical Foundation (866) 681-0735
  • Sutter Medical Foundation (866) 681-0736
  • Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation (866) 681-0739
  • Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation (866) 681-0745
  • Palo Alto Medical Foundation (877) 252-1777
• For services received at a location not listed above (e.g. a community doctor’s office): 
  • Call your doctor’s office directly.

Not at this time. You can view After Visit Summaries and notes in MHO by going to your Health Record and then Appointments and Visits. Your appointments will be separated by date. MHO does not currently provide a tool to search text across appointments and visits.

You do have the ability to sort past visits by provider, department, or specialty and the list will show up in chronological order. Each encounter will have an icon indicating whether or not there is an attached note.

Check out medlineplus.gov for a list of common medical abbreviations and acronyms. You can also write down questions for your care team and share with them during your visit.

Not at this time.

Test results will be immediately available after results are finalized. With the immediate release of results to your MHO account, it is possible that you will see a result before your provider or care team has had a chance to review it. Please wait for your provider or clinical team to contact you (typically 3-6 business days to discuss results.) If you have an urgent concern, you may contact your provider’s office.

Test results will not be viewable if they have not yet been finalized/released, if they are sent to us on paper, or if we are prohibited by law from posting the results electronically.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your test results, please contact the clinician who ordered the test.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals providing care to you and who have access to the Sutter’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) will have access to your notes and results. You have control to share notes and results with others as you see fit. You can request that your doctor or care provider keep the notes confidential at the time of your visit.

By California law, your clinician must talk to you before releasing results on the following conditions: HIV, Hepatitis antigens, pathology results, and the abuse of drugs.

In the case of a teen pregnancy, Sutter Health is obligated to protect adolescent confidentiality by California state law.

Teens 12 through 17 years of age can request access to their own medical records within MHO. As such, they will be able to see their notes and results. The proxy (parent/guardian) will not be able to view the teen’s clinical notes within the proxy MHO account.

At this time, patients and their proxies can view their radiologist’s analysis of their imaging studies.

We do not currently have the capabilities for patients to view clinical images online unless a provider has specifically copied and pasted an image into a note. Patients can request an electronic copy of imaging studies through local care centers.

With the immediate release of results to your MHO account, it is possible that you will see a result before your provider or care team has had a chance to review it. Please wait for your provider or clinical team to contact you (typically 3-6 business days to discuss results.) If you have an urgent concern, you may contact your provider’s office.