DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Vincent. R. Nathan, PhD, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Authorizing an Agreement with STRAC for Visual Dx and Everbridge Software Licenses
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes an agreement between Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) to provide funding in an amount not to exceed $37,500.00 in support of multiagency (Metro Health, STRAC, and Texas Department of State Health Services) funded licenses for Visual Dx Software from Logical Images, Inc. and Everbridge Software for public health emergency preparedness activities. Funding for this agreement is available and budgeted within Metro Health's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) FY 2016 grant and the FY 2016 Emergency Preparedness Discretionary grant.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In April of 2007, Metro Health initiated a piloted program for Visual Dx and currently maintains the cost of the program. Visual Dx is a diagnostic and training tool that allows physicians to more rapidly diagnose rare diseases or agents associated with bioterrorism and pandemics. In 2008, STRAC and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Region 8 became partners in a multi-agency implementation plan to equip hospitals with the Visual Dx software throughout the region. In 2011, the program was expanded to all Bexar County physicians through the Bexar County Medical Society (BCMS).
This contract with STRAC will maintain the Visual Dx Software across DSHS Region 8. As part of our Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant deliverables, Metro Health is required to train physicians and medical responders on how to rapidly identify and diagnose patients that present themselves to hospital emergency departments and physician offices.
Visual Dx is versatile in that it will train physicians as necessary and can be used in real-time situations to make a rapid diagnosis. Although funding from the Metro Health PHEP grant will go specifically towards the cost for a Bexar County license, our partnership with DSHS Region 8 and STRAC, who are sharing a portion of the financial cost, will expand the coverage of this service across the South Central Texas Region. Maintaining this license will provide the web-based Visual Dx Software to all Bexar County hospitals and physicians via BCMS. Along with supplementary funding by all forty-nine regional hospitals located in the DSHS Trauma Service Area P, which includes twenty-two counties (regional hospitals) and local agencies, will provide for the purchase of an EverBridge License used to notify medical staff in an emergency event and maintenance of services related to public health emergency preparedness.
ISSUE:
Metro Health is requesting City Council authorization of an agreement with STRAC to provide funding in an amount not to exceed $37,500.00 in support of a multiagency (Metro Health, STRAC, and DSHS) funded license for Visual Dx Software from Logical Images as well as the purchase of an EverBridge License used to notify medical staff in an emergency event and maintenance of services related to public health emergency preparedness. This will allow Metro Health’s PHEP program to comply with grant deliverables to train physicians and medical responders on how to rapidly identify and diagnose patients that present themselves to hospital emergency departments and physician offices.
ALTERNATIVES:
If this contract is not authorized, Metro Health’s PHEP program will be required to identify an alternative method to provide multiple training sessions to over 6,500 Bexar County physicians in order to fulfill specific grant deliverables outlined in Metro Health’s PHEP grant. This would cause a delay in the process to bring this educational component to the community and would leave many of our medical professionals unable to identify symptoms related to bioterrorism; thus slowing community wide detection and response time.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for this agreement with STRAC is available and budgeted within Metro Health’s FY 2016 Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant and the FY 2016 Emergency Preparedness Discretionary grant. This agreement will have no impact to the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of an Ordinance authorizing an agreement with the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council to provide funding in an amount not to exceed $37,500.00 in support of a multiagency (Metro Health, STRAC, and DSHS) funded license for Visual Dx Software from Logical Images, Inc. for Bexar County as well as the purchase of an EverBridge License used to notify medical staff in an emergency event and maintenance of services related to public health emergency preparedness.