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Staffing for Healthcare and Medical Organizations and Government Agencies – PDN in Chicago.

Phone: (708) 747-4361

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Diversity in HIM and Health Disparities

By Vera Rulon, MS, RHIT, FAHIMA

To improve healthcare for all, it is important to understand the scope of disparities in the US. The

AHRQ¹, in outlining their activities in reducing racial and ethnic disparities, describe the scope of disparities by using the following statistics:

Black children under age 18 are nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than white children
New AIDS cases are three times more likely in Hispanics than whites
69.9 % of American Indian or Alaska Native pregnant women receive prenatal care in the first trimester versus 85.4% of white women
Black adults over 18 with diabetes are three times more likely to be hospitalized for lower extremity amputation.

As HIM professionals, we can have a significant impact on reducing health disparities. We can do this through our commitment to quality information to benefit patients and support their physicians for improved decision making capabilities. We do this through managing that most important health information on behalf of patients and the public. Ensuring data quality is paramount for improvement in health and reduction in health disparities.

The Sullivan Commission report “Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions”² states that medical professionals should be able to speak the language of who they care for. The key message was that in order to relieve health disparities in minority populations, the country must increase the number of minorities in the health professions, or rather increase diversity in the health professions. This should apply to all health professions, especially those who touch patients. And the HIM profession certainly does. The more diverse we are as a profession, the stronger we become and the closer we are to achieving quality healthcare through quality information.

References:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “The National Healthcare Disparities Report.” February 2004. Available online at www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr03/nhdrsum03.htm.
Sullivan Commission. “Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Professions.” 2004. Available online at www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/pdf/SullivanReport.pdf

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