Primary Department: Public Health Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Leah Barton ─ Executive Director
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Interlocal Agreement
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Harris County Hospital District, DBA Harris Health System
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: Exempt - Interlocal/Cooperative Agreement
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by Public Health Services for approval of an interlocal agreement with the Harris County Hospital District DBA Harris Health System for EpicCare EMR access and related support services in the amount of $4,568,449.00.
end
Background and Discussion:
Public Health Services is entering into an interlocal agreement with Harris Health System to implement EpicCare and associated support services. EpicCare, licensed by Epic Systems Corporation, is a comprehensive electronic medical record (EMR) system that provides a HIPAA-compliant platform for clinical documentation, patient care coordination, and reporting. The proposed agreement offers new functionality by incorporating new modules to support clinical health, dental health, and social support services case management within a single, integrated system. This enhancement will enable Public Health Services to streamline care coordination, referrals, and service delivery across multiple programs, supporting a more unified approach to patient care. By consolidating these functions into EpicCare, Public Health Services will reduce reliance on fragmented systems, improve data sharing across service lines, and enhance the ability to manage patient needs holistically through coordinated, wraparound services.
Expected Impact:
The approval of this agreement will ensure Public Health Services maintains uninterrupted access to EpicCare while expanding its capabilities to support integrated case management across clinical health, dental dental, and social support services. The implementation will allow for a comprehensive patient record that supports referrals and coordinated care across programs. This will improve communication between Harris County Public Health and Harris Health System, enabling more efficient service delivery and reducing gaps in care. Overall, this enhancement strengthens Public Health Services’ ability to provide wraparound services, improve patient outcomes, increase operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with clinical and data reporting requirements while delivering high-quality care to Harris County residents.
Alternative Options:
Alternative options include choosing not to go into an agreement with Harris Health and seeking another vendor for EpicCare services.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 4. Improve physical and mental health outcomes across all communities.
County Strategic Plan Objective: O: Increase access to quality health care, including preventive and behavioral health.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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N/A |
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Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Service Name |
Information Technology |
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Current Fiscal Year Cost |
Annual Fiscal Cost |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
Recurring Expenses |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Budget |
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Other - 2117 |
$ |
$118,029 |
$118,029 |
$ |
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Commercial Paper |
$ |
$882,550 |
$882,550 |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Existing Budget |
$ |
$1,000,579 |
$1,000,579 |
$ |
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Additional Budget Request (Requires Fiscal Review Request Form) |
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|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Additional Budget Request |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Total Funding Sources |
$ |
$1,000,579 |
$1,000,579 |
$ |
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Grants - Proposed Budget (For Grants Items only) |
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Labor |
Non-Labor |
Total |
No. of Grant Years |
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Local Match Source - Existing Budget: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Local Match Source - Additional Budget Request: Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
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Personnel(Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Additional Positions Request |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
- |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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CAO Review Completion Date |
Click or tap to enter a date. |
Anticipated Court Date: May 14, 2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): May 14, 2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Alexey Gruber, Director of the Office of Operations & Technology Services, Public Health Services | Dr. Ericka Brown, Local Health Authority and Community Health & Wellness Division Director, Public Health Services
Attachments (if applicable): Interlocal Agreement