Tag: Health Equity

BCBS Tennessee Unveils Health Disparities in First Health Equity Report

BCBS Tennessee Unveils Health Disparities in First Health Equity Report

MedCity News

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee unveiled its first Health Equity Report Tuesday, which analyzed six topics of health disparities: behavioral health, cancer, child and adolescent care, chronic condition management, Covid-19 and maternal health.
The report serves as a way to understand the inequities that exist among its members to determine ways the payer can address the disparities, said Dr. Andrea Willis, chief medical officer of BCBS Tennessee. “We wanted to get a better picture of the health issues and barriers to care faced by our members and Tennesseans as a whole, so that we could more effectively partner with health care providers to…

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Federal agencies offer updates on TEFCA, interoperability milestones

Federal agencies offer updates on TEFCA, interoperability milestones

Healthcare IT news

On February 13, the government leaders thanked the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and six Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN) for working to create a nationwide interoperability network under the 21st Century Cures Act. The ‘Network of Networks’ 
At the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, Secretary Xavier Becerra presented certificates of recognition to the CommonWell Health Alliance, eHealth Exchange, Epic TEFCA Interoperability Services, Health Gorilla, Kno2 and KONZA for moving into the pre-production testing process of the Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement.
With the framework, ONC and the Sequoia Project, TEFCA’s recognized coordinating entity, seek to establish…

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2021 Annual Meeting: Data Tagging & Consent of Sensitive Health Data (Stakeholder Led Efforts)

2021 Annual Meeting: Data Tagging & Consent of Sensitive Health Data (Stakeholder Led Efforts)

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT

March 29, 2021Data Tagging and consent are important for improving interoperability while protecting privacy and choice. Data tagging can support various use cases including for social determinants of health data (SDOH) use and interoperability. Multidisciplinary, stakeholder led activities are focused on advancing data tagging adoption and use, in part to help eliminate disparities and improve health equity, and to support the interoperability of sensitive health data including, in certain instances, for SDOH. This session will inform attendees of current ONC and external stakeholder activities for moving sensitive health data to support holistic person centered health. Presenters will share progress on different…

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Regenstrief Institute names new president and CEO

Regenstrief Institute names new president and CEO

Healthcare IT news

Indiana University School of Medicine this week announced that Rachel E. Patzer, an expert in epidemiology and health services research, has been appointed to be president and chief executive officer of the school-affiliated Regenstrief Institute.WHY IT MATTERSPatzer, who holds degrees including a masters in public health and a doctorate in epidemiology, will begin the new role on May 1. She currently works at Emory University School of Medicine, where she serves as the founding director of its Health Services Research Center and is a tenured professor there in the school’s department of surgery.
She founded the Health Services Research Center at Emory…

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Bipartisan House bill proposes permanent telehealth benefits

Bipartisan House bill proposes permanent telehealth benefits

Healthcare IT news

The Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act would amend the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers to treat benefits for telehealth services like excepted benefits.WHY IT MATTERS
The bill aims to keep stand-alone telehealth benefits separate, not as a replacement of medical plans, offering them under a group health plan or group health insurance coverage as excepted benefits.
An excepted benefit allows employers to finance additional medical care, like vision or dental coverage, according to theCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services FAQsfor insurance agents and brokers, requiring Congress…

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NYU develops health metrics dashboard for all 435 U.S. Congressional Districts

NYU develops health metrics dashboard for all 435 U.S. Congressional Districts

Healthcare IT news

Researchers at New York University Grossman School of Medicine say their new Congressional District Health Dashboard reveals stark geographic, racial and ethnic differences in health across the United States. They hope lawmakers and healthcare organizations can use the tool to better understand and address health inequities.WHY IT MATTERS
Incorporating health measures, such as deaths from cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, along with conditions that affect health like housing affordability and access to nutritious foods, has not been available at the congressional district level.
Offering a single publicly-accessible location, the Congressional District Health Dashboard was built to offer a comprehensive data view of persistent inequities across the…

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2022 Tech Forum: Availability of SDOH & Health Equity Related Data & Implications for Public Health

2022 Tech Forum: Availability of SDOH & Health Equity Related Data & Implications for Public Health

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT

September 16, 2022This session will demonstrate how social determinants of health (SDOH) and health equity related data are collected and used in clinical notes and discuss the use of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for extracting these data from electronic health record systems. The session will also include discussion around SDOH, health equity, and public health use cases and how they can be used with NLP.  JaWanna Henry, MPH, MCHES, ONC (Moderator) Catherine DesRoches, DrPH, Harvard Medical School/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Elizabeth Shenkman, PhD, University of Florida Chelsea Richwine, PhD, ONCYonghui Wu, PhD, University of Florida…

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2021 Annual Meeting: HHS Health IT Activities to Advance SDOH Data Use & Interop for Health Equity

2021 Annual Meeting: HHS Health IT Activities to Advance SDOH Data Use & Interop for Health Equity

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT

March 30, 2021HHS is committed to achieving improvements in people’s lives by reducing health inequities. Social determinants of health such as poverty, unequal access to health care, lack of education, stigma, and racism are underlying, contributing factors of health inequities. This session will spotlight health data and interoperability related activities and approaches across several HHS agencies that aim to help address persistent inequities in health and health care and will include visionary remarks from HHS experts involved in research, public health, community living, and minority health.JaWanna Henry, MPH, ONC, ModeratorSamantha Meklir, MPP, ONC, ModeratorTimothy Carney, PhD, MPH, MBA, CDCKelly Cronin, MPH,…

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This World AIDS Day – Reflecting on Health IT as a Tool for Advancing Health Equity and Ending the HIV Epidemic

This World AIDS Day – Reflecting on Health IT as a Tool for Advancing Health Equity and Ending the HIV Epidemic

Health IT Buzz

December 1st is World AIDS Day, when we collectively remember those who died due to AIDS-related illnesses and renew our commitment to work together to end the HIV epidemic and support people with HIV. This year’s theme, “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV,” emphasizes accountability and action. Collaborative, community-based, cross sector, and whole-of-government approaches that address clinical and social determinants of health (SDOH) are needed to support communities disproportionally affected by HIV and achieve national HIV/AIDS goals. Interoperable health IT, with health equity as a fundamental design feature, is an important tool to enable these efforts.Health IT…

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