Highlights: There was a decrease in volumes across all five summary utilization metrics from May to June 2023. Observation admissions show the steepest decline going from 34% over pre-COVID baseline in May to -2% below baseline in June 2023, followed by ambulatory surgery with a change from 6% above baseline in May to -1% below baseline in June. There was a slight decrease in acute care admissions from -13% below baseline in May to -14% in June, while emergency department visits decreased from -18% to -20%. Please note that civil commitment admissions for FD-12 hospitals were added to the report and are depicted in Table 5 and Chart 3 of the report. Civil commitment admissions were above the 15-month median (April 2022 – June 2023) for the most recently reported four months ending in June 2023.

Recently, The Joint Commission and The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released regulatory measures for hospitals to address social needs. This overlaps with DC Department of Health Care Finance/CRISP SDOH Initiative which aims to prioritize the collection, exchange, and use of social needs.

Join DCHA, in collaboration with the Haugen Education Group, for a live webinar to learn more about social determinants of health (SDOH) Z codes. Learn how to collect, document, use, report, map SDOH data codes, and how to increase use of SDOH Z codes to support your hospital in meeting these new initiatives. This activity qualifies for 1 AHIMA/AAPC CEU.

The Institute of Medicine’s Crossing the Quality Chasm Report points to equity as one of six pivotal aims health systems need to focus on in order to continue to improve the quality of care given to patients. All patients—regardless of race, ethnicity, age, social status, primary language spoken, sexual orientation, level of education, or place of residence—should receive a consistent level of care and have access to the most appropriate resources. MedStar Health Research Institute is committed to health equity and is taking significant steps to extend health equity efforts through the development of its Health Equity Plan.

The Health Equity Plan is a initiative with three goals:

1. To ensure equity is a core component of research conducted across the MedStar system.
2. To ensure researchers are trained in health equity and research grants are viewed through an equity lens.
3. To engage in a participatory and partnered approach to implement the Health Equity Plan.

Come cheer on D.C. United on June 17 as they take on Real Salt Lake! DCHA members receives discounted tickets to the match. Use the link below to access up to 20% off D.C. United tickets.