UDS+ and Workforce Well-Being Survey Updates and Future Considerations

Addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) is fundamental to improving care delivery, achieving health equity, and can significantly impact treatment outcomes, particularly for underserved and vulnerable populations. However, SDOH data collection is often disparate across electronic health records (EHRs), which limits precise measurement of sociodemographic differences to accurately assess patient risk and make meaningful clinical decisions. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) have partnered to modernize HRSA’s Uniform Data System (UDS) and transform some UDS tables from reporting aggregate data at the health center level to disaggregated data at the patient level. UDS Patient-Level Submission (UDS+) implementation will begin with the 2023 UDS reports that health centers will submit by February 15, 2024. Patient-level data will better support health centers to identify and analyze important factors that influence care-seeking behavior, quality of care, and health outcomes.