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Health department outlines timeline, risks for UCSF-shared EHR
Summary
DPH and UCSF have formed joint governance and work groups for a shared Epic-based EHR; due diligence and negotiations continue with a targeted "go/no-go" decision in September and phased go-lives to manage resources and application dependencies.
San Francisco Department of Public Health IT director Bill Kim and Chief Health Information Officer Dr. Albert Yu told the commission that DPH and UCSF have formed a joint EHR program management team and are in due diligence and negotiation over a shared Epic-based electronic health record. The partnership aims to create an integrated clinical information workflow across DPH and UCSF and improve operational efficiency and patient care.
Why it matters: Commissioners were given a timeline that targets a September go/no-go decision on whether the UCSF partnership and implementation plan can meet cost and schedule constraints. The presentation said the program'level goal is to go live in phases so the department can marshal large numbers of trainers and "elbow-to-elbow" support at each site; Bill Kim described a detailed contracting and discovery checklist now in progress.
Key technical and program issues: Presenters emphasized three required components for success: the right-fit EHR software, robust IT infrastructure (wide area network and support services), and people/process/governance readiness. Major risks named by staff include (1) whether UCSF's contract proposal can be delivered within the budget approved by the Board and meet the department's mid-2019 timeline; (2) whether UCSF/Epic can cover DPH'specific business lines such as behavioral health and jail programs that UCSF has limited experience implementing; and (3) resource constraints during go-live. Dr. Yu said some modules (e.g., inpatient billing modules now used in Envision/Cerner) are priority for early phases.
Next steps: The department aims for UCSF to return a contract proposal by mid-late September and for the negotiating committee to work through terms thereafter. Staff said they will return with progress reports aligned to the commission's meeting calendar. Commissioners asked specifically about contingency plans and whether DPH could contract directly with subvendors if necessary; presenters said the partnership structure and UC contract with Epic create options to involve Epic or other subcontractors through UCSF's contract.
Provenance: presentation and Q&A with Bill Kim and Dr. Albert Yu; no formal action was taken at this meeting.
