Notice is hereby given in accordance with § 2.2-4007.01 of the Code of Virginia that the State Board of Health intends to consider amending 12VAC5-217, Regulations of the Patient Level Data System. The purpose of the proposed action is to add a field to report criteria for voluntary or involuntary psychiatric commitment to the data collected and shared via Virginia Health Information (VHI) with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). Item 307 D1 of Chapter 552 of the 2021 Acts of Assembly, Special Session I, requires inpatient hospitals to report the admission source of any individuals meeting the criteria for voluntary or involuntary psychiatric commitment as outlined in § 16.1-338, 16.1-339, 16.1-340.1, 16.1-345, 37.2-805, 37.2-809, or 37.2-904 of the Code of Virginia to the State Board of Health. The board is required to collect and share such data regarding the admission source of individuals admitted to inpatient hospitals as a psychiatric patient with DBHDS. The information will be shared using the new field in the patient-level data that DBHDS receives from VHI.

The agency does not intend to hold a public hearing on the proposed action after publication in the Virginia Register.

Statutory Authority: §§ 32.1-12 and 32.1-276.6 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Comment Deadline: February 16, 2022.

Agency Contact: Michael Sarkissian, Director, Data and Quality, Office of Information Management, Virginia Department of Health, 109 Governor Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-7416, FAX (804) 864-7022, or email vdh_oim_regulations@vdh.virginia.gov@vdh.virginia.gov.