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Subcommittee advances DPH amendment to extend Netsmart EMR contract, citing nearly 3,000 clinical users
Summary
The Budget & Finance Subcommittee forwarded a contract amendment to extend and expand the Department of Public Health's master agreement with Netsmart Systems for behavioral health electronic medical records; DPH said the system has nearly 3,000 clinical users and the extension adds roughly $22 million to the prior agreement.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Budget and Finance Subcommittee voted to advance a Department of Public Health contract amendment with Netsmart Systems that would extend the city's behavioral health electronic medical record agreement and add product enhancements to meet federal meaningful-use requirements.
David Counter, IT director for the Department of Public Health, told the committee the current system went live July 1, 2010 and "we have nearly 3,000 clinical users utilizing it, and 200 physicians doing electronic medical records, prescribing." Counter described the amendment as an extension of the existing master agreement and the acquisition of additional modules to accommodate new federal regulations and incentive programs.
The budget analyst reported the proposed extension would add about $22,000,000 to the original agreement and said operation and maintenance costs over the extension period are slightly lower than payments in the prior five years. The budget office also noted the department anticipates federal incentive payments to eligible psychiatrists and nurse practitioners that would offset part of the system costs and that some additional enhancements (about $8,600,000 in options) would be paid from non-general fund revenues that DPH had not identified specifically in the report.
Public commenters urged caution given the city's recent technology challenges. One commenter, Douglas Yap, noted prior failures and urged close oversight when spending the sum cited for the amendment.
After public comment and questions from supervisors, the committee moved the item forward "without objection." The resolution authorizing the amendment will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for final action.
Clarifying details: the amendment extends the agreement through 06/30/2018 (as described in the item) and adds product enhancements; DPH reported the system has nearly 3,000 clinical users and 200 prescribing physicians.
