What is VRISM  and how does it affect you? The Tennessee Department of Health has undertaken a project to upgrade the system our state uses to maintain death, birth, marriage, and divorce records.  The project, called (VRISM) stands for Vital Records Information System Management will result in a user-friendly system that allows for electronic communication between the Tennessee Office of Vital Records and those partners who help to register vital events that occur in Tennessee. The new system is a web-based, electronic system and will replace the predominantly manual, paper-based process currently in use.

 

The new system will significantly reduce the time between the occurrence and registration of vital events.

Via: https://www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/vital-records/vrism.html

 

This information, of course, is straight from the department of vital records. See article above for the entire explanation. While the system will be of great use to funeral directors and families it is currently going through new launch pains.  State trainers are working hard to train funeral home staff as well as doctors. However, it has been proved to be slow and flawed. While some funeral homes use it, some doctors do not. It has caused an untimely lag in the production of death certificates.

The state has the best of intention for this program and is our hope in the next few months it continues to improve.  As for the moment, however, there is to be some expected downtime between the funeral home submitting a death certificate, and it returned signed.

This can be a problem when preparing paperwork for cremation. While a death certificate does not have to be certified we do have to have signed copies and permits in place to do the cremation.

In the future requesting all vital records forms will not only be more accessible for the funeral homes but also for the families they serve. In the meantime, the transition will continue to take time to be done correctly.