BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT - A. YAMAMOTO

Approve contract Renewal with Kings View Corp. for Telepsychiatry Service for the period of July 1, 2016 through July 31, 2017 for a maximum total of $100,000.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 810

Telepsychiatry is a process that utilizes teleconferencing equipment to allow Psychiatry services to be delivered by a Psychiatrist, M.D. from an off-site location to the Esperanza Drop-In–Center site in Hollister, via two-way live visual and auditory exchange. Kings View provides this service for many other counties in the State. They provide the technical support and Psychiatrist specialists to allow our service to be delivered in a manner that meets the DHCS (Dept. of Health Care Services) regulations for service delivery and eligibility to receive reimbursement for services through the MediCal system. Telepsychiatry as a category of Telemedicine is an accepted method of providing specialist physician services in areas experiencing shortages of such specialists. The Behavioral Health Dept. utilizes this Telepsychiatry provider to serve monolingual Spanish speakers through access to a Spanish speaking Psychiatrist.

1)    Approve the attached contract renewal for Telepsychiatry Services with the Kings View Corporation for the term of  FY 2016-17 for a maximum  total of $100,000 and;

2)    Authorize the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign said agreement