Health Equity
News, Statements, and Testimony on Health Equity Issues
25th Council session information coming soon.
DC Releases Post-COVID Healthcare Report
Last weekend, the District government released a new report with "lessons learned" from the COVID pandemic.
Entitled "District of Columbia Department of Health COVID-19 Pandemic Health and Healthcare Recovery Report", the report has two halves. The first details the District's response to the pandemic and outlines how the District government acted to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on health, the economy, and society.
The second half contains recommendations going forward, and this is the focus of the report. This section breaks into five components:
- Health Planning
- Public Health and Healthcare Workforce
- Health Information Technology
- Health Care Facilities
- Community Health Services
Each component has an analysis and listed recommendations for the Council and District government to consider. You can read the entire report here, but below are a few items of interests to the physician community:
- Explore regional licensure reciprocity to allow local healthcare professionals to more easily practice in the District
- Examine whether new licensure categories are needed to reflect new modules of care
- Explore whether "certain procedures" that "traditionally require specific oversight" should be "re-examined" for more flexible supervision options.
- Assess and potentially redefine training or supervision levels with "an emphasis of supervision truly required for safe patient care".
- Push for common telehealth scopes of practice across state lines
- Provide consumers with instruments and training for telehealth monitoring
What is not in this report?
- Resources to address healthcare provider burnout and behavioral health interventions
- Re-examining the impact of the District's medical malpractice laws and how they may harm medical care.
- Invest in local medical education and how to retain students from local medical schools and allied health schools
Sample of Health Equity Legislation MSDC Tracked
What does it say? The bill allows for the administration of medicinal marijuana in schools as well as allows students to bring sunscreen to schools and apply it without a prescription.
MSDC position: MSDC supports the language permitting sunscreen application in schools
Current status: A win for DC physicians and public health! The legislation passed the Council in February and was signed by the Mayor. Previous temporary and emergency legislation permitted students to use sunscreen at schools this school year already.
What does it say? The bill requires DC Health to establish an electronic Medical Order for Scope of Treatment registry (eMOST).
MSDC position: MSDC supports this legislation to more easily allow patients to make their treatment orders known.
Current status: A win for the physician community and our patients! The Council passed the bill in December and the Mayor signed it into law on January 16, 2020.
What does it say? The bill would implement a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on the distribution of "sugary" beverages. The money collected from the tax would establish a Healthy People, Healthy Places Open Spaces Grant Program.
MSDC position: MSDC sent a letter to Council Chair Mendelson asking for a hearing to discuss all of the issues around a beverage tax.
Current status: The bill was introduced October 8, 2019 and referred to the Committee on Business and Economic Development and the Committee of the Whole.
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