Blues plan, 12 large healthcare systems join forces to remove racial bias from 15 clinical decision tools
10 Aug 2023
Preview
Source: FierceHealthcare
Healthcare providers have been working with clinical decision tools that incorrectly treat race as a biological concept, leading to disparities in care.
In a major effort to combat healthcare inequalities in the Philadelphia region, Independence Blue Cross is teaming up with 12 large health systems in the region to target 15 medical tests that may hinder minorities from getting the care that they need.
They want to remove race “adjustments” from the tests. For instance, a spirometry test measures lung function. However, the metrics used often incorporate race data and assume that Black and Asian patients have a smaller lung capacity than white patients.
“As a result, the test has failed to detect lung disease in many Black and Asian patients,” according to a press release announcing the program, dubbed the Regional Coalition to Eliminate Race-Based Medicine.
The coalition includes Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Doylestown Health, Grand View Health, Jefferson Health, Main Line Health, Nemours Children’s Health, Penn Medicine, Redeemer Health, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Temple Health, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic and Virtua Health.
"In many ways, race-based medicine has driven or contributed to the unacceptable health inequities that we see in the Philadelphia region and in other similarly situated communities across the country," said Gregory E. Deavens, CEO of the Independence Health Group, parent company of Independence Blue Cross, in the press release. "Our region is known worldwide as a destination for health care excellence. That’s in large part due to the institutions represented in this regional coalition.
The members say they will work together to eliminate the use of race as a variable in some of the medical tests and find alternative best practices that do not reinforce a biological understanding of race.
"Tthe use of race in many of these calculators is actually harmful, and, in many cases, it perpetuates biased health care inequities," said Kieran Cody, M.D., past president of the Doylestown Hospital medical staff and orthopedic sports medicine specialist, said in the release. "It is important for all members of the healthcare team to objectively examine the way race is used in medicine, to help remove historical ingrained biases, so that all members of our community are provided with the best possible care and the best possible outcomes.”
In addition to spirometry, the coalition plans to focus on:
Arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk estimator
Breast cancer surveillance consortium risk calculator
Estimated glomerular filtration rate
Fracture risk assessment tool
Heart failure risk score
Kidney donor risk index
NCI breast cancer risk assessment tool
Osteoporosis risk score
Race-based anemia guidelines
Rectal cancer survival calculator
Society of thoracic surgeons short term risk calculator
Urology stone score
UTI calculation guideline
Vaginal birth after Cesarean calculator
"We know that race is a social construct, and the elimination of race-based medicine is long overdue and a welcome change to ensure that patients are cared for equitably," Rita Guevara, M.D., director of health equity at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, said in the release. "When we recognize that structural inequities, not race, affect the health of our patients and their families, we're able to shift our collective focus to sustainable positive changes in healthcare. We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues in this effort.”
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Indications
Targets
-Drugs
-Chat with Hiro
Hot reports
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Empower better decisions with the latest in pharmaceutical intelligence.