Stations Santa Barbara County Bill Brown Sheriff - Coroner Buellton Headquarters*

Recommendations 1

• R6b
  The Grand Jury recommends that the Sheriff's Office upgrade its electronic health record system to allow it to receive patient health information from outside providers via an industry-standard means of internet transmission. Sheriff's Office Response: Electronic medical records systems such as that recommended by the Grand Jury are extraordinarily expensive. In conjunction with County Health, the Sheriff's Office has applied for a Path 4 implementation grant with the California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) for approximately $17.5 Million, $13 Million of which would be earmarked to replace the jails' electronic medical record (EMR) to be consistent with the Grand Jury's recommendation. The Sheriff's Office is currently awaiting a response from DHCS on the status of our grant proposal. If we receive this funding, the County plans to implement a new EMR that would incorporate the Grand Jury's recommendation and allow the Sheriff's Office to transmit and receive information directly from outside medical and mental health providers within the County. If awarded the Path 4 grant request, the Sheriff intends to complete this EMR transition by March 31, 2027. The Sheriff's Office has collaborated with County Health, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Behavioral Wellness regularly to implement changes necessary to comply with California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (Cal-AIM). Amongst several areas of collaboration, we have thoroughly discussed additional changes to the current electronic health record system that may need to be implemented if the grant funding is not received.