San Francisco DPH presents FY 2023–24 annual report highlighting recertification, overdose response and DoxyPEP findings

San Francisco Department of Public Health staff presented the department’s fiscal year 2023–24 annual report, summarizing accomplishments across hospitals, clinics and public‑health programs and providing data on service volumes, budgets and performance indicators.

The report highlights Laguna Honda Hospital’s Medicaid recertification (August 2023) and Medicare recertification (June 2024), noting the recertification restored federal funding and resumed admissions after the earlier CMS decertification process. DPH staff said the recertification work included nearly 1,000 action items and helped preserve funding that supports residents and staff.

Behavioral health work highlighted in the report includes the BEAM navigator program and a nighttime telehealth pilot launched in March 2024 to expand access to medications for opioid use disorder; DPH presented year‑over‑year increases in treatment metrics (a 32 percent increase in methadone admissions, a 46 percent increase in buprenorphine prescriptions at the DPH pharmacy, and a 35 percent increase in residential treatment admissions) and reported an approximate 20 percent decrease in fatal overdoses in the first nine months of 2024 versus 2023.

The report also described early implementation of doxycycline post‑exposure prophylaxis (DoxyPEP) and an associated analysis that DPH says showed about a 50 percent decline in chlamydia and early syphilis infections among certain populations after local guidance was issued; DPH described itself as the first local health department to measure DoxyPEP effects at the population level.

The annual report covers budget details, site maps, contractor lists and a set of 24 feature highlights across divisions; DPH staff said the document also includes demographic information for commission and senior leadership and a listing of Health Commission resolutions in 2023–24. Sarah Newkrug, health program planner, presented the report and said the document is posted in the meeting materials and on the DPH reports page.

Commissioners commended the report and asked for routine updates on several items; one commissioner suggested additional public‑facing formats to help the public understand the breadth of DPH’s responsibilities, including the integrated San Francisco Health Network of hospitals and clinics.

Ending: DPH staff said they will follow up with requested clarifications and additional data points and that the report is available on the department’s website and in the meeting materials for the commission.