AHA launches health equity roadmap to reduce barriers to health
The roadmap can be customized based on an organization's specific needs as they transition to a more inclusive framework.
Photo: Marko Geber/Getty Images
The American Hospital Association has launched what it calls the Health Equity Roadmap, a framework meant to provide customized resources and action plans for health systems looking to become more equitable and eliminate structural barriers to health.
The roadmap builds on the goals established by the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities and AHA's #123forEquity Pledge. Along with the customization, it includes other tools to help guide organizations throughout the process of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack called the roadmap "an important step as we strive to create a just society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health."
When engaging with the Health Equity Roadmap, hospitals and health systems take the Health Equity Transformation Assessment, follow tailored action plans and resources provided by AHA and based on each hospital's unique circumstances, and engage with the roadmap's virtual community of other hospitals undertaking similar work.
The Health Equity Roadmap is available free to all AHA member hospitals.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The AHA cited data showing that racial health inequities are associated with substantial annual economic losses nationally, including at least $10 billion in illness-related lost productivity and $200 billion in premature deaths.
According to the organization, eliminating health inequities also can lead to improved patient engagement in their care process and better health outcomes; decreased readmissions; and improved performance in value-based contracts through better care management, among other improvements.
The Transformation Assessment, engineered to gauge where an organization is on the path to increased equity, centers on six main points of focus: culturally appropriate care, equitable and inclusive organizational policies, the collection and use of data to drive action, diverse representation in leadership and governance, community collaboration for solutions, and systemic and shared accountability.
The assessment then determines where an organization is on the continuum, from simply exploring to actively transforming policies and practices.
THE LARGER TREND
Health equity has been an ongoing focus of the Biden Administration. At the HIMSS22 annual conference in Orlando, Florida, this month, government officials stressed the importance of interoperability in helping to achieve equitable outcomes.
Data exchange is needed to understand gaps in the system, said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. CMS will soon publish a rule on enhanced data exchange, she said, giving no specific date.
Brooks-LaSure said President Joe Biden has made it clear that HHS and CMS should do everything they can to break down barriers to care.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
