COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

San Mateo Medical Center

DATE:

August 16, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

September 12, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Nancy J. Steiger, Chief Executive Officer, San Mateo Medical Center

SUBJECT:

Agreement with InfoImage

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution:

1.

Authorizing the execution of an Agreement with InfoImage to process, print and mail statements for Environmental Health, Mental Health and San Mateo Medical Center, for the term July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008, in an amount not to exceed $395,823

2.

Authorizing the Chief Executive Officer of San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC) to execute subsequent Amendments and minor modifications not to exceed $25,000 and to make minor changes in the type of services and activities provided under the agreement.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government

Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

The Agreement contributes to this commitment by providing uniform rates for laser printing, mailing and programming services to the Health Services Department and San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), thereby reducing the costs for these services.

Performance Measure:

Measure

FY06-07

Actual

FY07-08 Projected

FY08-09

Projected

Percent of statements mailed to patients within 48 hours of File Transfer Processing (FTP)

98%

98%

98%

BACKGROUND:

After a Request for Proposal (RFP) process was conducted in May 2006. The RFP was sent to four vendors, two of whom responded. InfoImage was selected based on cost savings, responsiveness, and sufficient resources to perform the required services to Environmental Health, Mental Health, and San Mateo Medical Center.

DISCUSSION:

Postage constitutes the highest cost in the contract accounting for 64% of the contract maximum. A consolidated Agreement ensures consistent and/or lower rates for the services provided by InfoImage. Pre-sorted mail in batches of 150 pieces or more going to the same zip code qualify for lower automation rates. Last year, 66% of the statements processed qualified for minimal to no postage discount. The current Agreement is structured to allow for the following: 1) 84% of our statements qualify for lower postage rates than were paid last year, 2) Printing costs will remain frozen at the 2005 rate for the life of the contract, 3) Supply costs will be frozen at 0.3% to 0.4% above the 2004 rate for the life of the contract and 3) Pre-sort fees have been reduced by 52% over the life of the contract. The only increase anticipated is due to the rate increases from the U.S. Postal Service.

The services provided by InfoImage include billing and mailing of invoices from San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), Environmental Health and Mental Health. The Medical Center’s Business Office’s patient billing function accounts for a majority of the services provided by InfoImage. Each user has separate billing specifications because of the nature of the services that are being billed. SMMC bills for inpatient and outpatient services, Environmental Health for inspection fees and licenses, and Mental Health sends bills to clients as outpatient billing.

San Mateo Medical Center, in collaboration with the San Mateo County Treasurer’s office and San Mateo Medical Center’s internal Information Systems group, has implemented a program for automatic processing of patient payments. This program has considerably reduced the labor it takes to manually enter the payments into SMMC’s Siemens Invision accounting system. InfoImage has also played a key role in designing the statements to accommodate a scanline that will be read by the Treasurer’s office and converting the statements to an FTP file for direct processing by Siemens patient accounting system.

The Agreement with Infoimage is for two years with a 60-day termination clause. Revenue Services, at the direction of the SMMC Chief Financial Officer, is exploring the feasibility and cost effectiveness of Siemens providing this service. Siemens currently provides SMMC with a billing system and an insurance verifications system. Until a determination is made, the two-year agreement with InfoImage will ensure continuity of this necessary service. Information Services Department concurs that due to the complexity of our Siemens System, an extensive evaluation be conducted before a decision is made to transfer these services as part of the Siemens system.

The contractor has assured compliance with the County’s Contractor Empoyee Jury Service Ordinance, as well as all other contract provisions that are required by the County ordinance and administrative memoranda, including but not limited to insurance, hold harmless, non-discrimination and equal benefits.

Risk Management and County Counsel have reviewed and approved the Agreement

FISCAL IMPACT:

The term of the previous Agreement with InfoImage was May 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006, with a maximum amount of $245,000.

The term of this Agreement is July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008, with a maximum amount of $395,823. The maximum amount includes anticipated expenses for volume increase, for continued programming costs associated with automatic processing of payments, and a 10% yearly increase in postage. Funds are included in the individual tentatively Adopted Budgets for FY2006-07. Funds will be included in future year budget requests.