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HHS Presses Hospitals to Use New COVID-19 Data Reporting Modules

Analysis  |  By John Commins  
   July 14, 2020

Effective July 15, hospitals can no longer use CDC/NHSN COVID-19 module to fulfill federal data reporting requirements.

The federal government is pressing hospitals to begin on Wednesday using new modules for collecting data on daily capacity, utilization, and testing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network COVID-19 module will no longer be an option for daily reporting, effective July 15, the Department of Health and Human Services announced.

Instead, in guidelines set out last week by HHS, hospitals will be given the option of using one of four daily reporting modules, including:

  • Reporting data to state health departments that have written authorization regional federal administrators to report hospital data to HHS.
     
  • Reporting to the HHS TeleTracking portal, which has been used for special data reporting requests for distribution of high-impact funds and remdesivir.    
     
  • Authorizing health IT vendors and other third-party stakeholders to share information directly with HHS, which has to be approved by HHS regional administrators.
     
  • Publishing on a hospital website in a standardized format, such as schema.org, which would also require approval from regional administrators.

HHS is also asking for more granular detail in the daily reporting, including breakdowns of pediatric and adult patients, and inventories of remdesivir. 

HHS said it will also no longer ask for one-time requests for data to aid in the distribution of remdesivir or any other treatments or supplies.

"This means that the daily reporting is the only mechanism used for the distribution calculations," the American Hospital Association said in an advisory to its members.

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

In guidelines set out last week by HHS, hospitals will be given the option of using one of four daily reporting modules.

HHS said it will also no longer ask for one-time requests for data to aid in the distribution of remdesivir or any other treatments or supplies.

The agency is also asking for more granular detail in the daily reporting, including breakdowns of pediatric and adult patients, and inventories of remdesivir.


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