"health disparities" Posts

Portrait of Dominick Mack

Health IT: Improving Access and Driving Change in Healthcare for Communities of Color

Dominick Mack | April 21, 2014

Health care providers are leveraging the benefits of the increasing interoperability and portability of health information to improve population health outcomes. For communities that have historically experienced disparities in care, the uptake of EHRs and other forms of health IT  is good news – as long as the providers and patients in these communities have accessibility to the technology.

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Portrait of Maggie Wanis

Addressing disparities from the heart

Maggie Wanis | April 18, 2014

April is National Minority Health Month, this year with the theme of “Prevention is Power: Taking Action for Health Equity.” Transforming our nation’s health care system needs deliberate and diligent work in addressing health inequity and disparities that persist among populations. As part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Action Plan to reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, the ONC is leveraging its programs to improve the quality of health care of patients and communities through strategic use of health IT.

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Portrait of Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo

Advancing Health Equity in the Digital Age

Dr. Karen B. DeSalvo | April 18, 2014

During National Minority Health Month, we acknowledge the potential for health information technology (health IT) – from electronic and personal health records to online communities to mobile applications – to transform health care and improve the health of racial and ethnic minorities. Lack of access to quality, preventive health care, cultural and linguistic barriers, and limited patient-provider communication are factors that aggravate health disparities. By increasing our investment in health IT policies and standards, we can help improve the quality of health care delivery and make it easier for patients and providers to communicate with each other – a huge step toward addressing the persistence of health disparities.

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Portrait of Matthew Swain

Can Health IT Reduce Health Disparities? New ONC Report Explores Opportunities

Matthew Swain | May 10, 2013

Inequality related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status is one of our nation’s most vexing problems, and it affects health status, access to health care, and health care quality.
Unfortunately, health disparities in access to quality care are common. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report indicates that:

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