Memorandum of Understanding — Data Sharing Between Health Department and Emergency Services

Parties: County Department of Public Health ("Health") and County Department of Emergency Services ("EMS") | MOU Number: MOU-2026-IA-0015 | Effective Date: March 1, 2026

Purpose & Authority

This Memorandum of Understanding establishes the framework for sharing protected health information (PHI) and emergency response data between Health and EMS to improve coordinated response to public health emergencies, disease outbreaks, and mass casualty incidents.

Authority: - Health: State Health and Safety Code § 101000 et seq.; County Code Chapter 4.60 - EMS: State Government Code § 8550 et seq. (Emergency Services Act); County Code Chapter 2.68 - Data sharing: HIPAA 45 CFR § 164.512(b) (public health activities) and (j) (law enforcement)

Responsibilities

Data Governance

• Permitted Uses: Shared data may be used solely for emergency preparedness, disease surveillance, and coordinated incident response. Secondary use for research requires separate IRB approval.
• Data Ownership: Each agency retains ownership of data it originates. Derived datasets are jointly owned.
• Retention: Shared data retained for 7 years per state records retention schedule, then securely destroyed.
• Privacy Compliance: All data sharing complies with HIPAA Privacy Rule, state health information privacy statutes, and CJIS Security Policy where criminal justice data is involved.

Security Requirements

Funding & Resources

This MOU does not involve the transfer of funds. Each party bears its own costs for implementation. Shared infrastructure (secure file transfer server) is hosted by EMS and maintained at EMS expense. Health reimburses EMS $12,000 annually for server hosting costs via inter-departmental transfer.

Duration & Termination

• Duration: Three (3) years from the effective date.
• Renewal: Automatically renews for successive one-year terms unless either party provides written notice of non-renewal at least 90 days before expiration.
• Termination: Either party may terminate with 60 days written notice to the other party's designated representative. Upon termination, each party shall return or securely destroy all shared data within 30 days and provide written certification of destruction.

Amendment Process

Amendments require written agreement signed by authorized representatives of both parties (Division Director level or above). Amendments are documented using Form IA-200 and appended to this MOU. Administrative changes (contact information, designated representatives) may be made by written notice without formal amendment.

Authorized Signatures:

Health Department: ______ Date: ____

Emergency Services: ______ Date: ____