ORLANDO, Fla. – People of color fare worse than their white counterparts across many measures of health – whether they're for kidney disease, diabetes or COVID-19 hospitalization rates.  

But it's not enough to acknowledge those disparities exist, said ATW Health Solutions president and CEO Knitasha Washington and Chief Experience and Engagement Officer Kellie Goodson during their HIMSS22 session on Tuesday.  

"There's a difference between qualifying what we know, meaning we know disparities exist, and actually doing something, meaning the interventions that we put into play to eliminate disparities," said Washington. 

Even getting to a thorough understanding of those disparities takes deliberate effort. First, it means acknowledging that not every patient benefits from the same treatment plan.   

"In the healthcare space, many individuals think that because we have standardized protocols, because we have a standardized way in which we treat patients, that means we're treating them equally," said Washington.  

"That standardization does not always meet the needs of every patient." Eliminating disparities requires us to think bigger, she said.

Stratifying data by key demographics is a key way to spot potentially necessary interventions, said the panelists.  

"There are endless amounts of data you can use to find out who your most vulnerable population is," said Goodson. "It's not the same for every health system. It's not the same for every condition.  

"You have to be a data detective," she said.  

The speakers gave the example of California's maternal mortality rate, which dropped overall after the rollout of programs by the state – but remained high among Black residents.  

"You can clearly see here in the data that either the targeted interventions aren't necessarily working with Black women or there aren't targeted interventions with that particular group," said Washington. "These are the questions we really should be asking ourselves."  

Washington and Goodson noted that those working toward equity should also look beyond the numbers, to what they called qualitative data. They discussed a program ATW implemented, in partnership with Chicago-area hospitals, to promote community-based stroke-preparedness intervention.  

Understanding the "why" of individuals' reluctance to call 9-1-1 for strokes – such as distrust of the medical system or a fear of potential police interaction – helped to shape the response. "It wasn't until we got out there and started collecting qualitative data and started really understanding the issue that we were able to bring these interventions and got improved outcomes," Washington said.

For innovators in the room, the team stressed the importance of including the authentic patient voice at every stage of technology development – from design to evaluation.  

"The biggest issue that we have is today, in general, is that we believe the implementation of a tool solves a problem," said Washington.

"We believe we can implement a tool and the problem just goes away. That is just not the case," she said.

Again, different groups of people have different needs, said the panelists, and proposed solutions should reflect those needs.   

"I can tell you that there is not a research project that I have done that has not had a person of interest or patient involved in the entire process," Washington added. "When you meet people in an authentic space, and you're really seeking to understand, not seeking to be understood – that goes a long way."

Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Twitter: @kjercich
Email: kjercich@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.