This bill would change existing public health data modernization grant rules so money can be used to build and modernize systems that track hospital bed capacity across a State or region in real time or near real time. The tracked data would include emergency departments, intensive care units, inpatient psychiatric services, skilled nursing facilities, and other relevant facility types. The bill also requires a public-facing dashboard (with required privacy redactions) and seeks direct integration with hospital electronic medical records. It adds two kinds of pilot models to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation: one to improve emergency care for older adults (staffing, physical changes, geriatric protocols, and better coordination with post-acute care) and one to improve emergency care for people experiencing acute psychiatric crises (including dedicated ED units and improved transfers). Finally, the Comptroller General (GAO) must study best practices for these data systems and report to Congress within 1 year on how such systems affect ED boarding rates, wait times, and EMS offload time.
If the bill becomes law, Health agencies could fund and build statewide or regional systems that show hospital bed availability in near real time. A public dashboard would publish redacted information about capacity and emergency department conditions. Hospitals and emergency services may be asked to connect their electronic records to these systems. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ innovation center could run pilots to test ways to improve care for older adults and people in psychiatric crisis. The GAO will study the systems and provide a report to Congress within a year.
No publicly available information. The bill directs grants, cooperative agreements, pilot models, and a GAO study but does not include specific funding amounts or appropriations in the provided text.
The bill is framed to give public health agencies tools to monitor hospital capacity in real time, help measure and address emergency department boarding and wait times, and support pilots to improve emergency care for older adults and people experiencing psychiatric crises. It calls for public dashboards and better integration with hospital records to make capacity and flow data more available and usable.
No publicly available information.