Hello HMIS Users,

The RTFH has created an emergency/disaster protocol in regards to HMIS to support emergency response and continuity of care for clients during an emergency or disaster.

This protocol was developed to support your agency’s Continuity Of Operations Plan (COOP) and to better support you in serving your clients and responding appropriately to the emergency or disaster while keeping yourself, your staff, and your clients safe.

Protocol Details
During emergencies or disasters, verbal consent will be temporarily approved to record HMIS data sharing consent for all HMIS-participating agencies.

After the emergency has subsided it is expected that the appropriate and reasonable efforts are made to collect paper documents for clients who consented verbally during the emergency.

Revocations are still being treated normally, and clients must still sign a Revocation form in order to revoke their consent to an MPA. Revocation forms can be found on the HMIS page.

Data Entry Reminder
Additionally, we want to take the time to remind everyone that timely and accurate data is necessary in times of emergency.

We ask that data be entered in as close to real time as possible while maintaining the highest level of accuracy possible.

The accuracy and speed in which our data is entered into HMIS directly affects our ability to respond to the situation utilizing critical HMIS data.

HMIS data is a vital tool in responding to emergency situations in regards to current shelter capacity, accurate client counts, and coordinating care among other data that can be used to respond to emergencies.

The current situation involving COVID-19 worldwide is an example of an emergency situation where this protocol is being activated.

Thank you for your important work during this challenging time.
Please send any questions you may have about this to support@rtfhsd.org

Thank you,
RTFH HMIS Team