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BW/F this month begins collecting race, ethnicity, preferred language and other socio-economic information from patients and reporting it to city and state agencies. The data will be reported to the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and the Boston Public Health Commission.
“Collecting and sharing these data in a format that is consistent from hospital to hospital is imperative to improve access to health care for everyone in Boston and Massachusetts,” BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, said.
BW/F hospitals expect to begin collecting this information from patients Feb. 15. Training is underway for front-line staff who correspond with patients as they register with the BW/F system in Inpatient Admitting, Emergency Department Registration and other registration sites at BW/F hospitals or community health centers.
“Our staff will be trained to collect this information in a manner that is sensitive to our patients’ concerns and privacy, and we will assure each of our patients that their names will not be attached to any of the data we report to the city and state,” said John Ayanian, MD, chair of BW/F’s disparities project steering committee.
According to new regulations issued by the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and the Boston Public Health Commission, all acute care hospitals must collect this race and ethnicity demographic information now and begin reporting it by June. Massachusetts is collecting information to identify population differences in care and outcome within hospitals and to improve the quality of care by initiating programs, such as interpreter services and cultural competency training for staff, as well as translating patient information materials into different languages.
The data collected will be used to target programs and services where there are identified needs, to develop health care policy and to assist with public health studies. This de-identified health information will assist providers, health care payers and government agencies focus on reducing disparities in health care.
“This may seem like an added burden, but if we really are committed to reducing disparities in health care—and we are—we need this data to do so,” Gottlieb said.
The Center for Clinical Excellence and the Office for Women, Family and Community Programs are working with the Department of Marketing and Strategic Planning and others to produce brochures for both patients and staff to detail this new effort.