Health Reform and Health Systems Change: Implications for Addressing D

Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2009 Annual Conference

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On September 15, 2009, Kalahn Taylor-Clark, PhD, MPH made this presentation at the 2009 Annual Conference. Select to access the PowerPoint® presentation (319 KB) (Plugin Software Help).

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Slide 1

Health Reform and Health Systems Change: Implications for Addressing Disparities in Health Care

Kalahn Taylor-Clark, PhD, MPH
Research Director, Racial/Ethnic Health Care Equity Initiative

AHRQ 2009 Annual Conference

 

Slide 2

Understanding health disparities: data collection and analysis (Sec. 332)

IN GENERAL.-The Secretary shall ensure that.any ongoing or federally conducted or supported health care or public health program, activity or survey collects and reports-''(A) data on race and ethnicity for applicants, recipients, or beneficiaries

Source: H.R. 3200 - America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

 

Slide 3

Data Sources

Consumer Race/Ethnicity Data

• State Agencies (e.g., Medicaid)
• Employers
• Health Plans
• Providers
• Registries
  • Regional Collaboratives

 

Slide 4

Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills

"White House officials said Congress could also drop proposals requiring the government to . collect nationwide data on health and health care by race, sex, sexual orientation and "gender identity"...

Supporters of the House bill said such data would help reduce "health disparities," but critics said they feared the government could assemble a database that posed a threat to personal privacy."

Source: New York Times, Robert Pear and Jackie Calmes September 2, 2009

 

Slide 5

Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report

Key Recommendations
Subcommittee on Standardized Collection of Race/Ethnicity Data for Healthcare Quality Improvement
August 31, 2009

Entities should collect data on granular ethnicity and elicit race responses consistent with current OMB standards

Develop standards to support data exchange of race/ethnicity/language across multiple entities

Utilize indirect estimation where self-reported data are unavailable

 

Slide 6

Racial/ethnic Health Care Equity Initiative Motivation and Goals

Findings

• Consistent body of research demonstrates significant variation in the rates of medical procedures by race, even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable.

Recommendations

• Health care organizations should collect, report, and monitor patient-care data to build a foundation for solutions to racial/ethnic disparities in care
• Increase equity in care by increasing accountability and monitoring and improving clinical care quality

Challenges

• Despite continued attention to data concerns, inadequate information continues to limit the analyses of health care-related disparities and their outcomes.

Goals of Racial/ethnic Health Care Equity Initiative

Promulgate best practices for collecting, monitoring, and disclosure of race/ethnicity data to promote equity in care across all groups.

 

Slide 7

Considerations for Health Reform to Address Health Disparities

• Standard data collection activities must reflect local realities
• Protocols for privacy
• Guidelines for appropriate exchange and transfer of r/e/l data among health care organizations and government agencies

 

Slide 8

Thank You!!

ktclark@brookings.edu

Current as of December 2009

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Internet Citation:

Health Reform and Health Systems Change: Implications for Addressing Disparities in Health Care. Slide Presentation from the AHRQ 2009 Annual Conference (Text Version). December 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. https://www.ahrq.gov/about/annualconf09/taylor-clark.htm