Category: Health Equity

Best Practice Strategies for Organizational Health Equity

Adapted from HSAG by IPRO QIN-QIO HQIC, Network of Quality Improvement and Innovation Contractors (NQIIC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Improvement and Innovation Group

This resource provides best practice strategies, tasks, and tools for each of the seven Health Equity Organizational Assessment (HEOA) categories.

REaL Data Collection Toolbox

Prepared by IPRO HQIC

This Learning Toolbox focuses on healthcare facilities collecting data on race, ethnicity, and language preference (REaL) as an important component of the provision of equity in the healthcare setting. It includes a quick primer on data collection, and provides links to articles, tools, and resources to educate providers on the importance of knowing the diverse patient population for which they provide care.

Optimal Z Code Utilization & Reimbursement Opportunities, Webinar, December 7, 2021, 11 AM

An IPRO NQIIC Health Equity Cross-Task Event

This resource provides a recording and slides from a webinar presentation on how healthcare organizations can play an important role in advancing the collection of social determinants data and how these social risk factors impact patient health and quality of life. Additionally, the presenters provide valuable information on optimal Z code use for reimbursement.

Screening for Social Determinants of Health in Populations with Complex Needs: Implementation Consideration

Authors: Caitlin Thomas-Henkel and Meryl Schulman, Center for Health Care Strategies

This resource examines how organizations participating in Transforming Complex Care, a multisite national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, are assessing and addressing Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) for populations with complex needs. It reviews key considerations for organizations seeking to use SDOH data to improve patient care.

Included: 1) selecting and implementing SDOH assessment tools 2) collecting patient level information related to SDOH; 3) creating workflows to track and address patient needs; 4) identifying community resources and tracking referrals.

Social Determinants of Health for Rural People

The Rural Health Information Hub

This resources discusses the contributing social factors that impact the health of rural residents. It provides a guide that focuses on the barriers and challenges that rural residents experience and discusses the impact of and documenting rural differences related to: Income-level, educational attainment, race/ethnicity, and health literacy.

Minority Health SVI

US Department of Health and Human Services offices of Minority Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health developed the Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to enhance existing resources to support the identification of racial and ethnic minority communities at greatest risk for disproportionate impact and adverse outcomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given evidence on common factors contributing to social vulnerability, the MH SVI could potentially be applied to other public health emergencies.

Training and the Culture of Learning: Health Equity Resource Series

American Hospital Association (AHA) Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE)

To support hospitals and health systems starting from different points on their journey to achieve health equity, the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) is releasing a series of toolkits to share evidence-based practices to inform organizational next steps for the following topics:

  • Data collection, validation, stratification and application of patient information to address disparate outcomes
  • Cultural humility and implicit bias training and education
  • Diversity and inclusion in leadership and governance roles
  • Sustainable community partnerships focused on improving equity

Each toolkit is designed to be informative, whether organizations have already deployed health equity tactics and strategies or if they are at the early stages of implementation. Each helps lay the groundwork for an in-development equity roadmap to support hospitals’ and health systems’ efforts toward achieving high-quality, equitable care for all. This toolkit focuses on training and education strategies and approaches to encourage cultural humility and overcome implicit bias.

Modernizing Health Care to Improve Physical Accessibility

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

The resources in this inventory include guidance on how to increase physical accessibility of medical services, tools to assess your practice or facility’s accessibility for individuals’ disabilities, and tips and training materials to support efforts to reduce barriers and improve quality of care. This document is intended to provide recommendations on how to improve accessibility in order to improve quality of care for patients with disabilities.

Strategically Advancing Patient and Family Advisory Councils in New York State Hospitals

Institute for Patient and Family Centered Care (IPFCC)

The purpose of this project is to address gaps in knowledge about PFAC best practices. Specifically, the project aims to:

  1. Determine the prevalence of hospital-based PFACs in New York State;
  2. Document variation in hospital-based PFACs within New York State, including identifying differences in characteristics such as composition, structure, resources, management, and functioning;
  3. Assess the extent to which differences in hospital-based PFAC characteristics are related to selected outcomes, including safety and patient experience of care;
  4. Identify best practices for PFACs; and
  5. Recommend policy and practice changes for New York State to facilitate the spread of effective PFACs and PFA roles in hospitals