1272 CHARS Implementation
The Washington Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1272 (Health Systems Transparency) in 2021 that requires hospitals to report patient discharge information related to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, preferred language, any disability, and zip code of primary residence beginning January 1, 2023.
For information on the rulemaking process, visit our rulemaking page.
For information on suggested best practice for SOGI questions visit https://www.wsha.org/our-members/resources-for-hospitals/hospital-reporting-of-patient-demographic-data/
Project Implementation Timeline
2023
- January 1, 2023 – HB 1272 new patient demographic reporting went into effect for most hospitals.
- June 1, 2023- HB 1272 new patient demographic reporting went into effect for hospital with grants.
- December 1, 2025 – HB 1272 new patient demographic reporting goes into effect for hospitals who received a 2024 waiver
Patient handouts - Collecting New Patient Data (PDF)
English
Amharic - አማርኛ
Arabic - العَرَبِية
Chinese, Simplified - 简体中文
Japanese - 日本
Khmer (Cambodian)- ភាសាខ្មែរ
Korean - 한국어
Marshallese - Kajin Ṃajōḷ
Punjabi - ਪੰਜਾਬ
Russian - Русский
Samoan - Faa-Samoa
Somali - Af Soomaali
Spanish - Español
Tagalog - Wikang Tagalog
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I request to be added to, or removed from, the communication list?
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Submit your request to: CHARSGeneral@doh.wa.gov
- How do I submit questions?
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Submit your questions to: CHARSGeneral@doh.wa.gov
- What are the criteria for eligibility for a grant or a waiver?
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Hospitals eligible for a grant
Go-live date: July 1, 2023 Criteria:- Must be critical access hospital, sole community hospital, or Medicaid dependent hospital
- Must not be owned/operated by a system with two or more hospitals
- Must be critical access hospital, sole community hospital, or Medicaid dependent hospital
- Can be owned/operated by a system with two or more hospitals
Hospitals eligible for a waiver
Go-live date: TBD – set by the waiver Criteria: - What is Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1272 and what does it require?
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Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1272 (E2SHB 1272) passed the Legislature in 2021 and has many components. It requires hospitals to collect patient discharge information related to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, preferred language, any disability, and zip code of primary residence. The bill increases transparency in hospital financial data by requiring additional reporting of revenue and expenses and community health improvement activities and requires quarterly reporting of charity care data. The bill also requires a study on the impact of acute care hospital staffing on patient outcomes.
- Will the format for inpatient quarterly data files change to accommodate the new patient demographics?
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We won’t know the details until data begins to come in to DOH in April 2023.
- What are the code sets that will be used for the new patient demographic data?
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The code sets have been established. DOH and WSHA are preparing support and guidance documents. We will make the code sets and additional guidance available as soon as it is ready. Most of the communication and guidance will come from WSHA, as the data collector designee working most closely with hospitals.
- If a hospital is associated with a rural health clinic, are we also required to gather these additional data from the clinic? If so, where or who would we report these data to? Are clinics even required to report any other type of data that you might be aware of?
- No. Clinics do not report to CHARS. Clarification: CHARS only collects hospital discharge data.
- Do clinics need to collect all the Health Equity data?
- No. The statute does not cover clinics, as clinics do not report to CHARS.
- Do the new patient data elements in HB 1272 apply to outpatient records or to clinics?
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The new patient data elements in HB 1272 ONLY applies to CHARS data. CHARS data is inpatient and observation.
Questions?
If you have questions about HB 1272 CHARS implementation, you can email CHARSgeneral@doh.wa.gov.