Over the past two years, there has been a great deal of attention to inequalities in health care and the need to improve health equity. As part of this effort, education on health disparities is needed to educate clinicians on how best to improve health outcomes for all patient populations. We sat down with Dr. John Whyte, his CMO of WebMD, and Dr. Hansa Bhargava, his CMO of Medscape Education, to discuss how we can work towards a better and more equitable future.

Problems existed before COVID-19, but in many ways the pandemic has highlighted the need to address inequality. Dr. Bhargava said: Initially, the spread of COVID tended to worsen among people in lower socioeconomic groups. As more data were received, it became clear that health inequalities would certainly make him worse off with COVID-19. ”

Dr. White agrees. This came as no surprise to those who have studied inequality for decades, but a substantive debate has finally begun.

That discussion is taking place at the national level. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have outlined five priorities related to health equity for 2022-2023.

• Expand standardized data collection, reporting and analysis
• Assess the sources of inequalities within CMS programs and address inequalities in policies and operations to close gaps
• Building the capacity of health institutions and the workforce to reduce health and care gaps
• Facilitate language access, health literacy and culturally adapted service delivery
• Improve all forms of accessibility to health services and coverage

Medscape Education has responded to these priorities with a focus on improving health equity through education. Dr. Bhargava explains:Awareness and education of providers and medical teams is the first step in this journey. Hospitals and health systems should have easily accessible resources to help clinicians understand the impact of inequalities on health and outcomes. ”

Recently, Medscape Education launched Elevating Health Equity, a purpose-built learning center with educational activities and resources designed to provide the education clinicians across the healthcare team need. The Elevating Health Equity Learning Center reaches out to learners through educational activities on topics such as the social determinants of health and the provision of equitable care.

In the future, Dr. Bhargava and Dr. Whyte would like to expand the focus of health equity education. “We believe that education on current topics needs to be continued, but also focus on access to health care, especially in rural areas, as the number of professionals is often limited. I have., Tertiary medicineand access,‘ said Dr. Bhagava.

“And also in access to digital health,” Dr. White adds. This can create further disparities. ”

Dr. White also identifies clinical trials as an area of ​​focus. “We need more effective strategies to improve the diversity of clinical trials. New strategies are needed, especially in decentralized trials. should also be transparent.”

“There is much work to be done across the board, but if we keep the conversation going as a medical community, we can greatly improve care.”

For more information on Medscape Education’s commitment to health equity, please visit: https://www.medscape.org/sites/advances/elevating-health-equity