Health Equity 

Experienced Consultants in Health Equity. 

MHR has four consultants who have been surveying organizations for several years for Multicultural Health Care (MHC) Distinction, which has now been named Health Equity and is a three-year accreditation (HEA).

Understanding Health Equity 

One of the areas that is most problematic for every organization with which MHR has worked is that of data. Data is needed on individuals for:

• race/ethnicity,
• language,
• gender identity and
• sexual orientation.

Also data is needed early enough to be able to use it to:

• Address disparities
• Monitor and assess services, and
• Measure CLAS and disparities.

Not only does the consultant need to address the data, but where it is captured, collected and used. This involves cross-functional and departmental discussions, such as conversations with IT, the data warehouse staff and HEDIS staff. When the data is available, the conversation begins to shift to help clients to dig and look at what is there and how it can be used to structure and implement programs that are meaningful to the membership and actually meet the specific needs to reduce health disparities – as that is the goal, is it not?

 A key element of health equity is appropriate access to a high-quality health care team—a team whose members take the time to understand the needs, challenges and preferences of the individuals who entrust their care to them. Dr. Barr makes the case that comprehensive medication management (CMM) can be a significant contributor to achieving health equity.

Read his blog, “Health equity and CMM: You can’t have one without the other” on the Get the Medications Right Institute website here.

Sonia Frazier has been designated as the subject matter expert for HEA within MHR.

Sonia serves as the primary source for all things health equity. She is passionate about the subject and has been working with clients to understand the standards, evaluate their readiness, and successfully take them through the accreditation process.