HBEDS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)​​​​

Participation Requirements

• What facilities are required to participate in HBEDS?
• At this time, all General Acute Care Hospitals and Emergency Departments in California are required to participate.

• How will facilities be notified of participation requirements?
• ​CDPH will distribute All Facilities Letters (AFLs) to notify facilities of participation requirements. An initial AFL to notify facilities of the launch of this program was distributed on July 20, 2026.
  
• What is the deadline to start transmitting data? 

• CDPH will notify facilities via an All Facilities Letter of any hard deadlines to join the system. Hospitals across California are currently onboarding on a rolling basis.

​Onboarding

• Do hospitals have to pay to join? ​​​
• HBEDS is being paid for by governmental funds. There are no onboarding fees for hospitals or local governments. Hospitals will need to dedicate staff time during the onboarding process to develop the connection. ​
• Depending on the contract a facility has with their EMR/EHR vendor, the EMR/EHR vendor may charge the facility to develop the bed availability report. 

• Does the system work with any Electronic Health/Medical Record (EHR/EMR)? 

• Yes, the system is able to work with any EHR/EMR. The vendor will work with your facility to establish the report from your EHR/EMR. 

Benefits an​​​d Use 

• Will EMS overwhelm our Emergency Department (ED) or inpatient services with patients if they see the beds that are available? 
• ​No. HBEDS is intended to provide situational awareness regarding hospital capacity and does not independently determine patient destinations or direct EMS transport decisions. EMS patient destination decisions remain subject to local EMS policies, medical control, and Local Emergency Medical Services Authority (LEMSA) authority. During emergencies, HBEDS may also support coordination among hospitals, Medical Health Operational Area Coordinators (MHOAC), Regional Disaster Medical Health Coordinators/Specialists (RDMHC/S), LEMSAs, CDPH, and the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA)​ ​when evaluating healthcare system capacity and patient movement needs. 
  
• HBEDS also does not replace required clinician-to-clinician consultation, transfer center processes, patient acceptance requirements, or other established procedures for interfacility transfers. 
  
• Who has access to the data? 
• ​Once hospitals onboard to the system, they will be able to view their own data and information available from other participating hospitals. Authorized local and state partners may also have access to the dashboard, including LEMSAs, MHOACs, RDMHS/RDMHCs, local public health partners, and certain state agencies. Access and visibility should be based on operational need and established through the appropriate stakeholder and governance process.  

• What will the State of California be doing with hospital bed data? 

• ​State partners will use HBEDS to enhance healthcare system situational awareness and support preparedness and response activities. During emergencies, HBEDS may assist CDPH and EMSA in identifying healthcare system impacts, available capacity, emerging regional resource constraints, and potential patient movement needs. 
  

• ​​​​When an incident exceeds local or regional capabilities, HBEDS data may also inform coordination and decision-making associated with implementation of California's Statewide Patient Movement Plan. HBEDS is a decision-support and situational-awareness tool and does not, by itself, constitute a patient transfer request, patient acceptance, or direction to move patients. ​
  

• ​​The program is housed within CDPH's Center for Preparedness and Response, and HBEDS data is not intended to be used for healthcare facility licensing or enforcement purposes.  

• Will this change anything about the policies and procedures outlined in California's Public Health and Medical Emergency Operations Manual (EOM)? 
• ​No. HBEDS supplements, but does not replace or modify, the roles, responsibilities, authorities, or coordination processes established in California's Public Health and Medical Emergency Operations Manual. The system is intended to improve situational awareness and support coordination among hospitals, local jurisdictions, Operational Areas, Mutual Aid Regions, and state partners during both routine operations and emergencies.  

• Does reporting available beds in HBEDS mean that a hospital is automatically agreeing to accept patients? 

• ​No. Bed availability displayed in HBEDS is intended to provide situational awareness and does not constitute acceptance of a patient or guarantee that a bed is immediately available for a specific patient. Patient placement and interfacility transfer decisions remain subject to applicable clinical, operational, and transfer processes, including any required communication and acceptance by the receiving facility. ​​​