213238 Using Quality Improvement to Reduce Disparities in Care

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 5:10 PM

Marshall H. Chin, MD, MPH, FACP , Section for General Internal Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Naoko Muramatsu, PhD , Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
  
Abstract:

Quality improvement is becoming an integral component of the effort to reduce disparities in care, and many current initiatives build upon Avedis Donabedian's work in quality of care. We will briefly review Avedis Donabedian's life background and share personal stories of his compassion for vulnerable populations. We will then discuss Dr. Donabedian's work relevant for disparities including his seven pillars of quality (efficacy, effectiveness, efficiency, optimality, acceptability, legitimacy, equity).

We will discuss necessary elements for quality improvement to reduce disparities in care. These elements include: 1) Stratification of performance data by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and insurance status; 2) Cultural competency training; 3) Making disparities reduction a fundamental component of quality improvement; 4) Developing model disparities reduction intervention programs and creating infrastructure for implementation; 5) Aligning financial incentives to make disparities reduction sustainable; 6) Allocating more resources for the uninsured and safety net providers.

Learning Objectives:
1) To understand ways to use quality improvement approaches to reduce disparities in health care. 2) To recognize Dr. Avedis Donabedian’s compassion for vulnerable populations and influence on today’s efforts to reduce disparities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Researcher
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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