(a) The California Health and Human Services Agency shall develop a long-term care infrastructure blueprint to analyze how information technology could be utilized to do all of the following:
(1) Provide consistent information and referrals to consumers’ requests for information on long-term care service availability and eligibility requirements.
(2) Develop a core client services record that contains key assessment and care planning information.
(3) Transmit core client information from one agency to another when making a service referral.
(4) Create a long-term care data warehouse at state level to facilitate state and regional long-term care strategic planning, development, and evaluation.
(b) The blueprint developed shall include all of the following:
(1) A technical analysis of the data currently being collected by public long-term care programs.
(2) An evaluation of the information technology currently available to accomplish tasks specified in subdivision (a).
(3) A cost-benefit analysis of the information technology options identified.
(4) A proposal of incremental steps, and the corresponding budgetary outlays, required to develop the long-term care information infrastructure.
(c) The agency shall contract with a consulting firm that has been successful in assisting other states in undertaking similar infrastructure building endeavors, or that can demonstrate comparable experience, for preparation of the technical analysis.
(d) The agency shall ensure that the planning, development, and implementation of changes that occur as a result of this section encourage and allow concurrent implementation and operation of a long-term care integration pilot project consistent with Article 4.3 (commencing with Section 14139.05) of Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9.
(e) The agency shall report to the Legislature, in writing, on or before January 1, 2001, regarding the results of the technical analysis and the progress made on the development of the long-term care infrastructure blueprints.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 950, Sec. 7. Appropriation deleted by Governor's item-veto message. Effective January 1, 2000. Note: This text omits subdivision (f) to reflect the Governor's deletion of its $149,000 appropriation.)