VHHA Behavioral Health Inpatient Data Dashboard Highlights Psychiatric Hospital Admissions

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VHHA Launches Behavioral Health Inpatient Data Dashboard on Psychiatric Bed Occupancy in Private and Public Hospitals

New Dashboard Featuring Data Collected by Virginia Hospitals and Health Systems is Filtered by State Hospital and Private Hospital Admissions, Updated Quarterly

RICHMOND, VA -With the support of member hospitals and health systems, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) is launching a new public-facing Behavioral Health Inpatient Data Dashboardto provide insight and transparency regarding the volume of inpatient psychiatric hospital care being provided in the Commonwealth.

The dashboard leverages data from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) as well as VHHA inpatient data to show inpatient psychiatric admissions at both state-run and private sector hospitals on an annualized basis from state fiscal year (SFY) 2015 through the most currently available data for SFY 2022. The presentation of this information is color-coded to differentiate between voluntary admissions at private hospitals, temporary detention order (TDO) admissions at private hospitals, forensic TDO admissions at state government hospitals, other forensic admissions to state government hospitals, civil admissions to state government hospitals, and civil TDO admissions to state government hospitals. The data shows that in recent years, private hospitals have admitted around 90 percent of all behavioral health inpatients. This includes voluntary patients, who account for about 60 percent of annual behavioral health admissions, and court ordered TDO patients who represent about 30 percent of private hospital admissions. The dashboard displays data in interactive bar graph form so users accessing it can view the overall share of each type of admission per year, per facility type, as well as the total number of admissions in each category by hovering their cursor on different parts of the dashboard. The dashboard, which will be updated quarterly, allows users to filter the data by admission type and to evaluate data in a single state fiscal year or a series of years.

These admission trends are occurring at a time when more Virginiansand Americansindicate their mental health has been compromisedsince the COVID-19 pandemic began. Concurrently, many health care providers have seen increased demand for behavioral health treatment services while also confronting workforce staff shortages that impact treatment capacity. VHHA and its members present this dashboard as a public service in conjunction with continuing effort to work with state government partners, advocates, stakeholders, patients, and families engaged with the behavioral health system to support meaningful investment and reform to enhance the care delivery system for all those who make use of it during their hour of need.

"As we work to strengthen and enhance the behavioral health care system, while also confronting workforce shortages and strong demand for psychiatric treatment services being experienced by public and private Virginia hospitals, having verified and reliable data is critical to the process of evaluating potential policy solutions and next steps," said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. "With the publication of the Virginia Hospital Behavioral Health Inpatient Data Dashboard, VHHA and its members hope to provide important context that will help all stakeholders as we work together to address our shared challenges."

Added VHHA Vice President of Data Analytics David Vaamonde: "Data driven decision making is informed decision making. We experienced that firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic when the daily hospitalization data we collected and analyzed proved invaluable in helping chart key aspects of the state-level response strategy. Our latest data dashboard can likewise be an important information resource that can be consulted by multiple stakeholders beyond the hospital community as part of the deliberations that will shape behavioral health care strategy in Virginia for years to come."

The Behavioral Health Inpatient Data Dashboard is the latest interactive tool published by the VHHA Data Analytics Team to help enhance public understanding of the health care delivery system in the Commonwealth. Other VHHA data dashboards include the Virginia Hospital COVID-19 Data Dashboardthat was first published in April 2020 and has now been viewed more than 7.1 million times, the Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboard, the Virginia Hospital Patient Experience Data Dashboard, and the Community Health Legislative Dashboards.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 110 hospitals and 25 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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