April 2019
Health Equity: Bold Strategies, Unique Solutions
By: Dr. Derek J. Robinson, M.D., MBA, FACEP, CHCQM, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL)
April is National Minority Health Month as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health. In observance of National Minority Health Month, HHS actively joins partners around the U.S. to spotlight the importance of tackling opportunities to end health disparities based on race, ethnicity, language, gender, socioeconomic status, disability status and ZIP code.
BCBSIL recognizes Minority Health Month as an opportunity to collaborate with our provider partners across the state to help address some of the pressing and challenging inequitable health outcomes that may affect the members we serve. As part of our commitment to implementing innovative health equity solutions throughout Illinois, we are leading by providing educational/training programs and making targeted investments to help improve the quality of life for all members.
The intersection of health equity, cultural competency and implicit bias; the physician workforce shortage; and disparities in the number of underrepresented minorities practicing medicine in Illinois are three areas that BCBSIL is proud to announce as key pillars of our health equity strategies and solutions. On March 19th, I was honored to host a statewide summit titled, “Physician Diversity & Health Equity: The Imperative for Increasing Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine.” This meeting convened leadership teams representing deans of medical schools, student affairs/admissions/academic affairs officials, chief medical officers, diversity and inclusion officers and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Designated Institutional Officers. The idea is to develop a framework for how BCBSIL and the philanthropic community can accelerate meaningful improvement in the physician diversity pipeline in partnership with academic institutions. I recently participated in an NPR interview on this topic that discusses the challenges in detail.
This month, BCBSIL leaders and staff are participating in the Third Annual Health Equity Summit. This year’s theme is: "Health Equity Evolution: Accelerating the Path for Advancing Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health.” Jenne Johns, Director Quality Improvement and Health Equity, Medical Management, BCBSIL, offers the following insight: “The annual internal Health Equity Summit is one way that BCBSIL leads by example by educating our staff and aligning internal strategies, stakeholders, programs and solutions. We are all vested in supporting improved health outcomes for all our members, and the summit provides a safe space to be transparent with others in our organization to raise awareness about the evolution of our health equity and social determinants of health journey.”
Evaluating where we’ve been helps guide where we’re going. Information shared in this forum will be leveraged to help shape provider educational programs, and targeted investments with non-profit organizations to help support our members’ health and wellness.
When it comes to health equity, actions speak louder than words. We are committed to moving forward with new ideas. For example, BCBSIL has announced the debut of foodQSM, a service we’ll be offering in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield InstituteSM (BCBS InstituteSM). foodQ is a healthy food delivery service that brings nutritious, affordable meals directly to people living in food deserts – areas that lack adequate access to fresh foods that make up a healthy diet. Through the foodQ service, consumers have easy access to affordable, nutritious foods to help them improve their health outcomes, particularly for diet-related, chronic conditions, while potentially reducing avoidable emergency room visits and hospital admissions.
BCBSIL supported the BCBS Institute’s development of foodQ through Affordability CuresSM, our company’s commitment to develop long-term solutions that address the root causes of an expensive health care system, with investments in social determinants of health as one of the initial focus areas. The BCBS Institute will pilot foodQ in 25 Chicago ZIP codes. Any consumer living in these ZIP codes can participate, regardless of health insurance status or insurance carrier. Visit the foodQ website for more information.
I’m also pleased to announce the launch of a new training program for providers, in partnership with Quality Interactions, a small minority-owned business entity that leads virtual clinically focused cultural competency and implicit bias training programs. This training program involves two computer-based training modules and will initially be offered to select BCBSIL providers.
Do you have ideas you’d like to share to keep the conversation going? You are always welcome to email our Blue Review editor with any thoughts or feedback.
Learn more about Dr. Derek J. Robinson
Blue Cross Blue Shield Institute (BCBS Institute℠) is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a federation of 36 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
The above material is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician or other health care provider. Physicians and other health care providers are encouraged to use their own medical judgment based upon all available information and the condition of the patient in determining the appropriate course of treatment. References to third party sources or organizations are not a representation, warranty or endorsement of such organizations. Any questions regarding those organizations should be addressed to them directly. The fact that a service or treatment is described in this material is not a guarantee that the service or treatment is a covered benefit and members should refer to their certificate of coverage for more details, including benefits, limitations and exclusions. Regardless of benefits, the final decision about any service or treatment is between the member and their health care provider.