Achieving a Full View of Patients

How Data is the Missing Piece in Solving Health Equity Struggles

Advancing health equity has been a longstanding goal of the public health sector. Ongoing efforts focused on reducing profound racial, ethnic, and gender health disparities were already a problem prior to the Pandemic. As awareness continued to grow around this pressing issue, the onset and spread of the COVID-19 virus quickly exposed the urgency of creating an equitable healthcare system. Like many societal problems and changes, the Pandemic didn’t create the issue, but it simply increased the impact of what was already happening.

The disproportionate, burdening effects of the pandemic on disadvantaged communities and ethnic groups have raised concerns nationwide. Now more than ever, the medical and healthcare industries are being encouraged to reevaluate their methods for equitable patient care and clinical research.

Transitioning towards a “data-driven approach” has become the new and improved strategy among many health organizations; however, leveraging the power of data goes beyond analyzing patient medical records. Additional data points, available at scale, are necessary for widespread improvement to healthcare processes and policies.