S17-E30026 – Approve an ordinance authorizing an Interlocal Agreement between the City of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School for the contract amount not to exceed $148,000.00 for a block chain feasibility study for the Houston Health Department.
Specific Explanation:
The Director of the Houston Health Department and the Chief Procurement Officer recommend that City Council approve an ordinance awarding a one (1) year Interlocal Agreement between the City of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School in the contract amount not to exceed $148,000.00 for a block chain feasibility study. The Chief Procurement Officer and/or the Director of the Houston Health Department may terminate this contract at any time upon 30-days written notice to the contractor.
This agreement will allow the Houston Health Department (HHD) to work with Dr. Khurshid and his team at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin to design a pilot for testing the feasibility of using blockchain technology for the highly sensitive PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) program data. The design will be based on proprietary blockchain application, the MediLinker, developed at Dr. Khurshid’s Lab. MediLinker application has been specifically developed for patient identity and consent management in healthcare settings with an interdisciplinary team and has been tested and published in peer-reviewed informatics literature. The MediLinker application is a proprietary software of the University of Texas at Austin. This proprietary application, MediLinker, will be the basis to perform the functional features and further development needs to fulfill the privacy, security, and data sharing capabilities needed for the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) program in Houston. The team will also explore an integration strategy for existing information sources in Houston to capture and share relevant information.
This recommendation is made pursuant to subsection 271.102(c) of the Texas Local Government Code, which provides that "a local government that purchases goods or services [from a cooperative purchasing program or organization] satisfies any state law requiring the local government to seek competitive bids for the purchase of the goods or services.”
MWBE Participation:
M/WBE Zero Percentage Goal document approved by the Office of Business Opportunity.
Pay or Play Program:
This procurement is exempt from the City's Pay or Play Program. Bids/proposals were not solicited because the department is utilizing an Interlocal purchasing agreement for this procurement.
Hire Houston First:
This procurement is exempt from the City’s Hire Houston First Ordinance. Bids/proposals were not solicited because the department is utilizing an Interlocal Purchasing Agreement for this purchase.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required for grant items.
__________________________________ ___________________________
Jerry Adams, Chief Procurement Officer Department Approval Signature
Finance/Strategic Procurement Division
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Estimated Spending Authority
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DEPARTMENT
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FY2022
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OUT YEARS
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TOTAL
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Houston Health Department
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$148,000.00
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$0.00
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$148,000.00
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