A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR partial funding of infrastructure to connect free clinics In an integrated AND iNTEROPERABLE Network.
Whereas, the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., is a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax‑exempt organization, whose members are part of the "safety net" of care for the uninsured and underinsured across the State; and
Whereas, North Carolina has more than 74 Free Clinics and Pharmacies in both rural and urban locations that provide free medical and dental care, as well as prescription medications, for low‑income, uninsured, and medically underinsured people in more than 77 counties and cities; and
Whereas, the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., plans to implement a $3.5 million Information Technology Initiative to provide a framework for free clinics to connect to other existing and developing health care networks; and
Whereas, some of the benefits of the Information Technology Initiative will include the following: positioning free clinics for participation in Tele‑Health programs and research; moving all of the patients to the fully electronically managed Electronic Medical Records System to address health information vulnerabilities that impact patient care; enhancing patient scheduling and tracking to focus on chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension; improving medication management through prescription monitoring; standardizing application for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information on patient demographics, disease registries, quality assurance/risk management metrics, and program outcomes; securing the environment for patient information; increasing efficiency for clinic operations through a repeatable and scalable best practices mode; and reducing information technology expenditures for individual clinics; and
Whereas, securing State funds would enable the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., to leverage additional funds from various charitable organizations to complete the project and to utilize funds already awarded by the Federal Communications Commission through its Rural Health Care Pilot Program to connect the network to other networks; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health and Community Care (Office of Rural Health), the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to be allocated to the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, to partially fund the infrastructure to connect free clinics in an integrated and interoperable network.
SECTION 1.(b)  These shall be used for capital costs for hardware, software, telecommunications, unified communications, peripheral equipment, and other related hardware and software items to:
(1)	Integrate and connect free clinics to the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., and to one another through the Internet or some other network.
(2)	Establish an Electronic Medical Records System and Patient Tracking System for free clinics.
(3)	Establish a central server infrastructure facility housed with the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc.
(4)	Upgrade or install medical grade infrastructure at free clinics with appropriate security and communications protocols necessary for data transmissions.
(5)	Implement any related purposes.
SECTION 1.(c)  Funds appropriated in this act shall not be used for compensation or other benefits of personnel, administrators, directors, consultants, or any other parties; to purchase or lease real property; to finance or satisfy any debt; or to maintain the capital items obtained with these funds.
SECTION 1.(d)  The Office of Rural Health shall condition its release of funds upon receipt of documentation of costs and any other information from the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., that the expenditures for the project are consistent with the project described in this act; and upon assurances that the additional funds required for the project from third parties are committed.  The Office of Rural Health may directly pay vendors upon request of the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc.
SECTION 1.(e)  The State Chief Information Officer and Office of Information Technology Services are authorized to provide consultation in furtherance of the purposes of this act; however, the project for which these funds are appropriated is not subject to Article 3D of Chapter 147 of the General Statutes.
SECTION 1.(f)  These funds shall not revert at the end of the fiscal year but shall remain available to the Office of Rural Health for the purposes set out in this act. Any funds not expended by the Office of Rural Health by July 1, 2011, shall revert.
SECTION 1.(g)  The Office of Rural Health shall report semiannually on the status of North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, Inc., Information Technology Initiative to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology, and the Fiscal Research Division. The report shall be made on January 15 and July 15 of each year until the project is fully funded and operational. The report must include all of the following:
(1)	The projected date for implementation of the system.
(2)	The status of the system development and implementation.
(3)	Any issues that may impact the development and implementation of the core system, along with the actions being taken to reduce the impact.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2008.