DPH outlines California data‑exchange work and EPIC behavioral‑health rollout
August 01, 2023 | San Francisco City, San Francisco County, California
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The San Francisco Department of Public Health on Aug. 1 presented a Health Information Technology quarterly update that focused on California’s data exchange framework and the department’s EPIC behavioral‑health services (BHS) project.
Chief Information Officer Eric Raffin said the data exchange framework stems from AB133 and "establishes a framework ... for every Californian and all of the health and human services providers" to enable timely exchange of health and human‑services information. He said DPH signed the state’s data‑sharing agreement in February and will be onboarding Unite Us, an online community resource directory to provide closed‑loop referrals between health providers and community organizations.
Raffin described the EPIC BHS project as having completed kickoff activities and moving into workflow configuration; the presentation set an early April 2024 target for training and go‑live phases. He also reviewed language‑access upgrades: Epic "Welcome" and text‑messaging tools will support six languages (Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese), and MyChart will gain simplified Chinese in an upcoming Epic update.
Commissioners raised questions about fees for participation in the state framework, HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 protections for behavioral‑health records, and whether smaller community providers could afford to join exchange networks. Raffin said the framework aligns with federal TEFCA standards and HIPAA, acknowledged technical and subscription costs are possible (similar to existing networks such as CareEverywhere), and noted state grant phases and technical assistance funding to help smaller organizations onboard.
Raffin also shared EPIC project finances: FY2022–23 personnel costs of about $18.5 million, work orders of roughly $133,000 and non‑personnel expenses just under $22 million; he said the program projects to be modestly underspent over the 10‑year project life. Commissioners asked about using exchanged data for population‑level analyses; Raffin said DPH is already creating data marts to join behavioral‑health, homelessness and other records for population health and overdose‑response work.
The department will return to the commission with updates as the EPIC BHS configuration, testing and training proceed.
Chief Information Officer Eric Raffin said the data exchange framework stems from AB133 and "establishes a framework ... for every Californian and all of the health and human services providers" to enable timely exchange of health and human‑services information. He said DPH signed the state’s data‑sharing agreement in February and will be onboarding Unite Us, an online community resource directory to provide closed‑loop referrals between health providers and community organizations.
Raffin described the EPIC BHS project as having completed kickoff activities and moving into workflow configuration; the presentation set an early April 2024 target for training and go‑live phases. He also reviewed language‑access upgrades: Epic "Welcome" and text‑messaging tools will support six languages (Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese), and MyChart will gain simplified Chinese in an upcoming Epic update.
Commissioners raised questions about fees for participation in the state framework, HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 protections for behavioral‑health records, and whether smaller community providers could afford to join exchange networks. Raffin said the framework aligns with federal TEFCA standards and HIPAA, acknowledged technical and subscription costs are possible (similar to existing networks such as CareEverywhere), and noted state grant phases and technical assistance funding to help smaller organizations onboard.
Raffin also shared EPIC project finances: FY2022–23 personnel costs of about $18.5 million, work orders of roughly $133,000 and non‑personnel expenses just under $22 million; he said the program projects to be modestly underspent over the 10‑year project life. Commissioners asked about using exchanged data for population‑level analyses; Raffin said DPH is already creating data marts to join behavioral‑health, homelessness and other records for population health and overdose‑response work.
The department will return to the commission with updates as the EPIC BHS configuration, testing and training proceed.
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