REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 22, 2024
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department Public Health
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with VVC Holding Corp. for the Electronic Health Record System
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 6 to Contract No. 16-938 with VVC Holding Corp., for the Athena Practice electronic health record system, including the System Upgrade Assurance subscription, increasing the contract amount by $332,960, from $3,535,282 to $3,868,242, and extending the contract term by one year, for a total contract period of December 20, 2016, through December 31, 2025, with the option to extend one additional year.
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Director, 387-9146)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item does not impact Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The cost increase of $332,960, associated with Amendment No. 6 to Contract No.16-938 (Contract), is for the ongoing subscription of the System Upgrade Assurance of the Athena Practice Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. The costs are funded by Medicare, Medi-Cal, patient fees, and private insurance. Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Public Health (DPH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amendment No. 6 to the Contract seeks approval for a one-year extension for a term of December 20, 2016, through December 31, 2025, with an option to extend the contract an additional year. This extension is essential to ensure uninterrupted access to patient health records and the continued management of healthcare-related documents while DPH transitions to a new EHR system.
DPH is committed to providing preventive health services that enhance the health, safety, and quality of life for County residents and visitors. The Athena Practice EHR system plays a critical role in this mission by enabling DPH to capture and retrieve patient information efficiently, streamline service delivery, monitor and report on health trends, and automate claims and billing processes. The extension of this contract will ensure that DPH clinicians can continue utilizing the EHR system to manage patient records while the department migrates to a new EHR system.
On December 20, 2016 (Item No. 55), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the Contract with General Electric Company in an amount not to exceed $1,938,195 for the provision of an EHR system, for the period of December 20, 2016, through December 19, 2019.
On September 25, 2018 (Item No. 29), the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to the Contract, reflecting the assignment of the contract from General Electric Company to VVC and updating contract language, with no change to the contract amount of $1,938,195 or the contract period.
On December 10, 2019 (Item No. 26), the Board approved Amendment No. 2, exercising both one-year extension options and increasing the total amount by $554,527, from $1,938,195 to $2,492,722, for the total contract period of December 20, 2016, through December 19, 2021.
On December 14, 2021 (Item No. 45), the Board approved Amendment No. 3, increasing the total contract amount by $567,343, from $2,492,722 to $3,060,065, and extending the contract an additional two years, for the total period of December 20, 2016, through December 19, 2023.
On March 29, 2022 (Item No. 39), the Board approved Amendment No. 4, for the provision of the System Upgrade Assurance subscription, which is an additional service cost covering training and test environments, increasing the total contract by $78,750, from $3,060,065 to $3,138,815, with no change to the contract period of December 20, 2016, through December 19, 2023.
On October 23, 2023 (Item No. 52), the Board approved Amendment No. 5, for the system upgrade of the Medical Office Technology ezAcess Patient Portal and Messenger Service, and InDxLogic Document Management subscription, increasing the contract amount by $396,467 from $3,138,815 to $3,535,282 and extending the contract by one year for a revised contract period of December 20, 2016, to December 31, 2024.
DPH is requesting a one-year extension with the option to extend one additional year, to allow DPH to migrate to a new EHR system. The extension will allow DPH continuity of operations and appropriate migration of legacy data during this transitionary period. The extension is necessary to avoid service interruption which may cause severe impacts if not renewed.
PROCUREMENT
The Purchasing Department concurs with the non-competitive extension based on the preexisting contract to allow time for migration to another EHR system.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on August 22, 2024; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on August 13, 2024; Finance (Iliana Rodriguez, Administrative Analyst, 387-4205) on September 20, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on September 20, 2024.