HHS advisors consider mapping disparities via HIT (posted 6/14)

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is exploring using health informtion technology (HIT) to help map out disparities in healthcare access and outcomes, reports Government Health IT.  The first stage of meaningful use requirements for HIT require providers to collect data about their patient’s race, ethnicity and language, and it is this data that can help to map out disparities in access and care.  Additionally, starting in 2011, providers must show quality reports by race, ethnicity and language.  Government Health IT reports:

Dr. Paul Tang, co-chairman of the meaningful use workgroup, said he hoped providers will have to do more with the data in 2013 second stage meaningful use requirements to change health outcomes for underserved populations. “The stratified quality reports combined with more standardized, granular ethnicity data, and requiring that providers be able to capture that, I think will be a way of giving [providers] the necessary tools,” said Tang, who is also chief medical information officer of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation...Dr. Neil Calman, a work group member, said that a mechanism should be put in place to monitor whether disparities increase with the wide adoption of electronic health records and other health IT. A number of the speakers at the meeting cautioned, “If we don’t get this right, we’re going to do damage,” Calman reminded the work group members.

To read the full article click here.

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