The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is requiring Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) reporting in the inpatient sphere starting in January 2024, with a submission deadline of May 15, 2025. Reporting SDOH to CMS for 2023 is voluntary.
CMS will require the screening of five specific SDOH domains for admitted patients in 2024:
- Food insecurity
- Interpersonal safety
- Housing insecurity
- Transportation insecurity
- Utilities (a newer domain, which falls under a larger driver of financial insecurities)
To ensure a unified approach across various health care settings, including ambulatory, emergency department, inpatient, and home health, health care organizations should coordinate efforts in addressing SDOH,
according to HIIMS.
Additionally, CMS will also introduce two inpatient quality reporting measures for SDOH in 2024.
- Screening for SDOH: This measure will assess the number of patients screened for the five domains of SDOH for individuals aged 18 years or older.
- Positive rate for SDOH: This measure will track the number of patients who screened positive for any of the five domains of SDOH.
CMS has created a Q&A to answer questions related to the new reporting changes.
During a live ISMA webinar on Jan. 11 with coding expert Janet Hailey, coding changes for 2024 – including to SDOH – will be discussed.
Register today.
Additional resources
The ISMA has launched an online toolbox, “Drive for Five,” and a webpage to assist physicians and their patients in accessing resources concerning SDOH. Drive for Five is a one-stop SDOH resource page for physicians and their practices. Visit
www.ismanet.org/driveforfive to gain free, instant access to the platform.
