What’s happening: The Department of Health Care Access and Information’s (HCAI) new Hospital Equity Toolkit supports hospitals’ reporting of health equity-related data, as required under Assembly Bill (AB) 1204 (2021).
What else to know: AB 1204 (2021) requires hospitals to submit annual reports for measures on patient access, quality, and outcomes by race, ethnicity, language, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and payer. The reports must also include a plan to prioritize and address disparities for vulnerable populations identified in the data submitted. The first annual report is due Sept. 30.
The toolkit provides guidance for:
- Collecting patient demographic data to better understand the diversity of hospitals patient population
- Gathering patient data on health-related social needs to provide tailored, equitable care
- Equity planning to guide efforts in reducing health disparities and ensuring that resources and services are distributed equitably
The Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) has also launched a program to streamline hospitals’ mandatory health equity reporting: HQI’s Hospital Quality Improvement Platform (HQIP) can streamline this process and provide a report for HCAI.
Contact hqianalytics@hqiinstitute.org to learn more about HQIP.
