Events

March 3, 2022

Andrew Anderson, Assistant Professor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, joins PTEC to discuss his team's efforts to develop and validate a quantitative measure of health equity. The measure, known as the Health Equity Index, has potential utility as not only as an means of identifying disparities in health care but also as an assessment of interventions targeting these disparities. The accessibility to real-world data afforded by the the PTEC grant and its role in advancing quantitative health equity research is also examined.

January 19, 2022

Julie Sonier, President and CEO of MN Community Measurement sits with Cyrena Gawuga of PTEC to discuss her fascinating projects with MN Community Measurement. A particular area of focus is on improving the collection of standardized and complete data on race, ethnicity, language and country of origin across Minnesota, and how these efforts can serve as a model for other states and organizations. Next, a discussion of the proposed study and and brief commentary on advancing health equity.

Restoring the "Community" in Community Health

October 1, 2021

Paul Umbach of Tripp Umbach Strategic Consulting Services shares his experiences conducting community health needs assessments (CHNAs) for federally-funded hospitals, including some of the most prestigious institutions in the country. He and Cyrena Gawuga of PTEC discuss the advantages and drawbacks of well-funded urban healthcare systems playing a role in the development and implementation of community health initiatives. In Part 2, the conversation concludes with an exploration of ways to empower to communities and help them reclaim their critical role as the "community" in community health.

“Not Just Social”: Reconsidering the Determinants of Health

April 12, 2021

Brisa Hernandez, System Director Population Health and Engagement at CommonSpirit Health discussed her dissertation research that challenges the ubiquitous concept of “social determinants of health.” Dr. Hernandez proposes there are other dimensions— structural, spatial, and temporal— that contribute to the overall determinants of health (DOH). Her research focused on an urban Hispanic immigrant community in Charlotte, NC, demonstrating that changes in the built environment, job availability, and other factors are also significant contributors to health outcomes. After her presentation, Dr. Hernandez and Cyrena Gawuga of PTEC considered the implications of her work and how expanding beyond “SDOH” can reshape health equity initiatives.

Using Data to Achieve Health Equity: Identifying Differences, Closing Gaps, and Efforts to Improve Care Quality

March 15, 2021

Amitabh Chandra, Economist and Professor at Harvard University and Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute presented his research into disparities in care quality and health outcomes between black and white patients with Medicare. Dr. Chandra honed in on in hospital resource allocation as one of the root causes of inequities in care quality and discussed how this data can be used to drive broader changes in policy development and implementation. Jacquelyn McRae, Director of Policy at PhRMA, joined to discuss her research into the failings of data collection on race and ethnicity in healthcare and how these gaps pose barriers to developing successful health equity initiatives. Benson Hsu of PTEC moderated a lively exchange on the promises and challenges of using data to shape policies to address health inequity.

Telehealth’s impact on low-income communities

PTEC’s Kirsten Axelsen and Benson Hsu join PTEC board member and partner at DLA Piper, Ray Williams, on DLA Piper’s “Beyond the Curve” podcast. The open and wide-ranging discussion includes the post-COVID mainstreaming of telehealth, disparities in telehealth usage, and how new policies could impact healthcare for underserved communities.

Communication and information sharing in support of healthcare for vulnerable populations

February 22, 2021

Jay Bhatt, geriatrician and Chief Clinical Product Officer and Medical Director at Medical Hope Network discussed the advancements in using data analytics to identify the social needs of vulnerable populations and implement innovative strategies to provide more equitable care. Next Christina Floyd, MPH, Health Director at the Fort Mojave Indian Health Center, joined Dr. Bhatt for an insightful conversation (moderated by Cyrena Gawuga of PTEC) about practical applications of data analytics when working with patients from vulnerable populations. The participants described ways in which information sharing has been used to improve outcomes for patients. The conversation also explored concerns about data safety and abuse and building trusting partnerships with marginalized communities.

Achieving greater equity through healthcare administration

January 25, 2021

Danielle Gadson, PhD, medical sociologist and professor of public administration at Villanova University reflects on the development of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States as an expression of pre-existing structural racial and socioeconomic inequalities in society, and how the crisis can be used as an inflection point to reconsider systemic approaches to health equity. Kirsten Axelsen of PTEC moderates a panel discussion with SreyRam Kuy, MD, Elizabeth Coté, MD, and Ebony David regarding the responsibilities of healthcare leaders in administrative positions to institute programs and interventions to address health disparities and the use of metrics to evaluate structural efforts to increase health equity.

Metrics and reimbursement in health care: implications for health disparities

December 14, 2020

The authors of Value Based Health Care Must Value Black Lives (Ayotomiwa Ojo, Parsa Erfani, and Neel Shah, MD) ask what it would take for value-based care to account for the contribution of systemic racism to health disparities, and how to establish racial equity as a metric of valuable care. Then, Murray Aitken, Michael LeBeau, MD, and Barbara Terry join a panel moderated by PTEC’s Benson Hsu, MD, considering how measurement and reimbursement systems enable or discourage providers or health systems to invest time and resources with communities whose health is challenged by systematic racism and barriers to care.