New Report Underscores Need for Driscoll Filed Legislation

In the news: MHA’s Report Details Hospital Stay and Access to Care Challenges

JUNE 30, 2023

Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA) published a report detailing the process of moving patients through their hospital stay. A Clogged System: Keeping Patients Moving Through their Care Journey reports on data that showcases that across Massachusetts there are often over 1000 patients who could be discharged from an acute care hospital but are having to wait to do so.

The Boston Globe published Over a thousand patients have been ‘stuck’ in hospital beds as discharge problems persist, by Jessica Bartlett, following the release of the report. The piece detailed “operational and financial implications, creating delays for ambulances to offload patients into the hospital,” and noted that some have postponed procedures because of overcrowding.

Steve Walsh, president and CEO of MHA told the Globe that “Even as the public health emergency has come to an end, our healthcare system is still in major distress. This backlog of stuck patients is playing a major role in driving up wait times and obstructing access to care.”

This session, Representative Driscoll filed a bill regarding this issue – H.2154, An Act establishing a task force to study the sustainability of emergency medical services is meant to require evaluation of Massachusetts’ medical services and ensure that all needs are met. The findings in this report make clear that this legislation is necessary, along with other efforts, to better streamline the patient experience and to ensure access to timely, quality care is preserved.

More information on the report, as well as the full report, can be found, here.