The COVID-19 pandemic has brought social and racial inequity to the forefront of public health. In the United States, the pandemic has affected many communities, including racial and ethnic minorities as well as low-income populations, more severely than other groups. Negative health outcomes are more common among individuals within these groups, and social determinants of…
As we reported on Wednesday, Jan. 12, “The top officials at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday, Jan. 11, made a major public statement regarding the goal of moving the healthcare system towards health equity, and a major component of that statement focused on leveraging Medicare’s value-based programs, particularly those…
The top officials at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday, Jan. 11, made a major public statement regarding the goal of moving the healthcare system towards health equity, and a major component of that statement focused on leveraging Medicare’s value-based programs, particularly those focused on accountable care organizations (ACOs) to…
Profound racial and ethnic disparities in health and well-being have long been the norm in the United States. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) people live fewer years, on average, than white people. They are also more likely to die from treatable conditions; more likely to die during or after pregnancy and to suffer serious pregnancy-related…
Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) introduced their strategic refresh “Putting All Patients at the Center of Care” to support broader, more equitable, and outcome-based healthcare delivery transformation while streamlining current and future payment models. Since its inception in 2010 as a part of the Affordable Care Act, CMS has launched over 50 innovation/pilot…
Many researchers working on health technology assessments (HTAs) are keen to address disparities in health care. But the COVID-19 pandemic and recent prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement have cast a bright spotlight on structural racism in the US and elsewhere, showing that addressing health disparities after they are established is both too late and…
Socially Determined, the Washington, D.C.-based technology company that measures the impacts of the social determinants of health (SDOH), has developed Digital Landscape, a new metric for assessing digital equity as an SDOH component. Using Digital Landscape, organizations can assess equity “within a population or community and the impact it has on health outcomes and business performance.”…
Virtual platforms democratized scientific meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic but, as any meeting-goer will tell you, it’s the questions from the floor and the back-and-forth of an expert panel that often reveal the importance of and/or problems with a presentation. It’s the scrutiny that makes the science resonate, especially in this postfactual era. The all-virtual…
Health disparities are a long-standing challenge in the United States and worldwide. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its higher impact on vulnerable and marginalized groups, more attention is being directed towards achieving health equity. With a focus on the relationship between health, social factors, and their role in public health, researchers, policy makers…
People often confuse health equity with health equality, but it’s vital that healthcare professionals understand the difference. Health equality essentially means giving every person the same thing, while health equity means giving people what they need to reach the best possible outcome. This, of course, is an important distinction, as social determinants of health (SDoH) often dictate the needs…