Davidson County commissioners approved an MOU Oct. 13 to allow the jail’s medical contractor and a third-party vendor to access a county-hosted electronic medical records (EMR) system for inmate healthcare.

County staff described two agreements: an MOU with the medical contractor (IMS) to place laptops on the county network and a vendor access agreement with Cadmus, the EMR provider. Staff said purchase of the laptops can be handled through the sheriff’s office and that Doctor Pilon, the jail medical contractor lead, will reimburse the county within 30 days for the laptops’ cost.

Staff emphasized that Cadmus must access only authorized medical records and that the County’s IT department will configure network controls. “Cadmus would be CJIS compliant, and that governs the information that we're sharing,” a county staff member said, adding that the company and the jail must adhere to HIPAA requirements. Commissioners discussed firewalling, admin/view restrictions and monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to other parts of the county network.

Supporters said the EMR migration will reduce time spent scanning handwritten medical records, allow remote physician review and improve efficiency for nurses and records requests. After questions about security and cost, the Board approved the agreements on a motion and voice vote.