What You Should Know: - NCQA announced that it has been awarded a $18M, maximum 5-year contract from the CMS Office of Minority Health to advance health equity and reduce health disparities. The project, called the Health Equity Accelerator builds on NCQA’s strong foundation of work at the intersection of health equity, health care quality and health outcomes research, as well as NCQA’s longstanding relationship with CMS OMH. NCQA previously supported CMS OMH as the prime contractor
Read More
Health Equity
Advancing Health Equity by Addressing The Health Data Desert
Massive disparities continue to plague healthcare in the United States. Many Americans do not have access to quality care, leading to higher rates of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and obesity. Health equity means ensuring that health resources and services are accessible and affordable for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, geography, ethnicity, or financial circumstances. Health equity allows people to lead active and productive lives, reduces the
Read More
Debunking 3 Myths About Virtual Care to Drive Health Equity
Despite positive proof points, the expansion of virtual care and remote patient engagement strategies - including RPM - continues to be hampered by misconceptions among potential users and misalignment of financial incentives among providers and payers. It’s time to take a look at some of the myths holding back the adoption of virtual care and remote patient engagement tools and limiting progress toward achieving the interconnected goals of the Quintuple Aim. If there’s a silver
Read More
SSM Health Forms 10-Year Partnership with Siemens Healthineers to Advance Health Equity & Workforce Development
What You Should Know: SSM Health, a nonprofit health system and Siemens Healthineers have announced a new 10-year strategic partnership agreement focused on expanding access to high-quality care and training the next generation of health care workers. The agreement with SSM Health creates the largest geographic Siemens Healthineers strategic partnership to date. Advancing Health Equity & Workforce Development The strategic partnership will focus on advancing
Read More
How to Achieve Health Equity in Decentralized Clinical Trials
Trial sponsors have made efforts to address underrepresentation and promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in clinical trials since the Federal and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2016 guidance, but a new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) still shows a continuous presence of major gaps in patient diversity. It begs the question: how do we ultimately achieve full representation and ensure accountability to uphold the promises we have made for
Read More
Improving Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: Driving Better Outcomes for Patients and Health Plans
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, there is a growing need for innovative solutions that not only improve the quality of care but also make care more accessible. Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) plays a crucial role in helping patients get to where care is delivered. As healthcare reform efforts continue to gain momentum, transportation benefits have become an increasingly critical component of providing equitable care to patients. NEMT helps close the health equity gap
Read More
NCQA Launches Race and Ethnicity Stratification Learning Network
What You Should Know: - The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today launched the Race and Ethnicity Stratification Learning Network, a free, interactive, online tool that offers data and best practices to help health plans improve how they collect race and ethnicity data on their enrollees. Improving data collection of race and ethnicity data is vital to improving health equity. - The data available in this new resource summarize the care of 20 million people
Read More
Closing Racial Disparities in Patient Portal Usage
Over the last decade, the healthcare industry has experienced an explosion of digital innovation. Simultaneously, shifting consumer preferences around convenience and access to care has accelerated the pace of technology adoption at unprecedented speed, especially in the wake of the pandemic. The value of these digital tools is manifold: healthcare enterprises report increased operational efficiency, higher quality care delivery, cost savings, and the potential to deliver a more
Read More
Innovaccer Launches Self-Serve Conversational AI Assistant
What You Should Know: - Innovaccer is unveiling six new breakthrough solutions that help providers accelerate their success with population health, consumerism, and value-based care. - Leading the lineup is Sara, the first conversational AI for healthcare analytics. Sara is a conversational AI assistant that literally puts the full breadth and depth of enterprise healthcare analytics into the hands of healthcare managers, physicians, and care teams. Anyone can ask Sara complex questions
Read More
MedArrive Secures $8M to Expand At-Home Care
What You Should Know: - MedArrive, a Mobile-integrated care management platform company today announced $8M in new funding led by Cobalt Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC). The investment follows MedArrive’s $25 million series A round in November 2021 and brings the company’s total funding to $40.5M to date - MedArrive plans to use the new investment to expand its payer relationships, build out its team and
Read More
