Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise F. Rogers, Chief, San Mateo County Health
David McGrew, Interim Chief Information Officer, San Mateo County Health
Subject: Amendment to the Agreement with Ellit Groups to Provide Additional Consulting and Staffing Services for the Electronic Health Record Implementation within San Mateo County Health
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Ellit Groups to provide additional consulting and staffing services for the Electronic Health Record Implementation within San Mateo County Health, through February 12, 2025, and increasing the County’s fiscal obligation by $7,191,365 to an amount not to exceed $15,191,365.
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BACKGROUND:
On December 13, 2022, this Board approved an agreement with Epic Systems Corporation (Epic) to provide the Electronic Health Medical Record (EHR) system for San Mateo County Health (SMCH). The implementation section of the EHR implementation budget outlined additional support services to provide consulting and additional temporary resources to ensure a successful implementation to meet the needs of SMCH.
On February 13, 2024, this Board approved an agreement with Ellit Groups to provide consulting and staffing services for EHR implementation.
DISCUSSION:
As we prepare for the Epic go-live on November 2, 2024, there are additional services that are required to supplement and support the multiple workstreams during the final preparation and during the go-live period. Additionally, some services currently performed by existing vendors will no longer be offered. This amendment will allow Ellit Groups to provide temporary staffing for these services while we determine a long-term strategy. The temporary staffing we are leveraging Ellit Groups for are:
• Training support services to provide additional support to Super Users and technical staff, as over 2,000 End-Users will be cycling through Epic training in 17 training rooms, six days per week.
• “At the Elbow Support” staff who will supplement the Super Users and Epic staff to provide real-time assistance at multiple locations during the two weeks starting November 2nd.
• MyChart service desk staffing to answer, "how to" and technical issues for patients using the Epic patient portal.
• Clinical service desk staffing to be initial line of support for end users throughout the go-live and beyond. These resources can offset the IT analyst workload by providing real-time support to end-users.
The temporary staffing provided by Ellit Groups will be reduced as needed if adequate SMCH staffing is identified to perform any of these services.
The amendment and resolution have been reviewed and approved by County Attorney as to form.
The resolution contains the County’s standard provisions allowing amendment of the County’s fiscal obligations by a maximum of $25,000 (in aggregate).
It is anticipated that with the support of the additional resources and the knowledge from Ellit Groups, the SMCH project team will have the resources to ensure a smooth transition and complete project plan milestones on a timely basis 95% of the time.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2024-25 Estimated |
|
Percentage of time the SMCH project team has timely completion of project plan milestones. |
95% |
Equity Impact:
Ellit Group staffing makes possible SMCH’s adoption and use of an integrated EHR, such as Epic, which can support SMCH’s commitment to advancing health equity for its diverse, low-income patient population. By proactively addressing potential disparities, SMCH can ensure the benefits of an integrated EHR are shared equitably across all populations we serve. Specifically, Epic is expected to enhance SMCH’s ability to collect patient demographic and clinical data, allowing for better tracking of health outcomes across different populations and identifying health disparities more effectively. This can lead to enhanced care coordination among healthcare providers, especially for marginalized populations who may have more complex healthcare needs. Additionally, Epic’s patient portal, MyChart, will give patient’s access to their own health data and empower them to make more informed decisions, especially the ones with multiple co-morbidities and complex care needs. Our patient population will have the same experience of the benefits resulting from a quality health record as the patients of the leading healthcare systems in the Bay Area and the nation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of this agreement is from February 13, 2024, through February 12, 2025. The amount of this agreement is not to exceed $15,191,365. This agreement is entirely funded as part of the EHR Implementation budget, which is covered by proportional contributions from all County Health divisions, which may include some Net County Cost, depending on the compositions of each division’s contribution.