Leaders of health equity efforts are leveraging technology, investments and value-based payment models to improve care outcomes for patients.
Amid growing opposition to work centered on diversity, equity and inclusion, executives at Modern Healthcare's Health Equity Conference Tuesday said they remain focused on eliminating disparities. Support from boards of directors and collaboration across the care continuum is helping them continue the work, they said.
Related: How healthcare DEI leaders are battling waning support
Here are four strategies executives at the event said they are employing to combat health inequities.
1. Invest in communities to address social determinants of health
In June, Rush University System for Health celebrated the opening of a laundry vendor on Chicago’s West Side after supporting its development and contracting with the company as a way to revitalize the local economy. Fillmore Linen Service is expected to employ almost 200 people.
Creating jobs allows individuals to afford healthcare and lead healthier lifestyles, said Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of Chicago-based Rush University System for Health.
“We physically created wealth in a neighborhood,” Lateef said. “That's what fixes underlying social determinants of health. And if you want to talk about inclusion, that's what brings people into your neighborhoods.”
That kind of community investment has been a main focus of West Side United, a nonprofit group that includes eight Chicago hospitals collaborating to address the life expectancy gap between individuals in downtown Chicago and the city's west side, Lateef said.
Since the organization was formed in 2017, member hospitals have invested more than $10 million in community projects and given grants to 130 small businesses.
2. Design technology with health equity in mind
Some providers are using technology to connect with communities that are traditionally harder to reach and give individuals a different way to access care.
“Technology plays a key role in enabling that trust and making sure that you don't leave anyone behind,” said MiSalud Health CEO Cindy Blanco.
MiSalud Health, a three-year-old virtual care platform catering to Latino patients, is working to create a product that uses artificial intelligence to adjust doctors’ notes to match the literacy level of a patient, which would be particularly effective in helping individuals with limited English knowledge, Blanco said.
GuideWell, an insurance holding company based in Jacksonville, Florida, recently partnered with a technology startup to increase its engagement with pregnant people of color and guide individuals to care resources, said Dr. Kelli Tice, the company’s vice president of medical affairs and chief health equity officer.
“The idea actually came from an employee innovation challenge,” she said. “It was three employees who felt empowered enough to say, ‘My maternal health journey wasn't what it could have been. There should have been something to do this, that or the other for me.’”
3 Educate the next generation of healthcare leaders on DEI
The Fenwick Institute at Boston Children’s Hospital launched a leadership development program this year to teach the hospital's midcareer professionals about principles of health equity, diversity and inclusion.
The curriculum includes lessons on measuring key factors in healthy child development and how to create an inclusive work environment as a leader, said Dr. Valerie Ward, senior vice president and chief equity and inclusion officer at Boston Children's Hospital.
In 2025, Boston Children's plans to open up its next leadership development cohort to healthcare professionals nationwide.
“If we want to make an impact on how we improve health outcomes for all children, then we need leaders in finance, in the legal office, in the community health office and in the health equity office that are working with us collaboratively, but also coming up with their own ideas on how to approach this,” Ward said.
4. Create payment models that incentivize care for underserved populations
Under the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health model, launched by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in January 2023, some providers have taken on more high-needs patients and looked closer at which populations live in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage.
Having risk adjustments as part of ACO REACH that incentivize care for underserved and low-income individuals is an important way to make care more equitable, said William Bleser, research director of healthcare transformation for social needs and health equity at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy.
The ACO REACH model also requires data collection around health-related social needs, race and ethnicity, setting it apart from other alternative payment models, Bleser said.
With the ACO REACH program set to expire at the end of 2026, CMS should consider transferring its financial structure and health equity provisions to other payment models, he said. That way, providers could maintain the progress made on transitioning to value-based care and health equity initiatives.
