Blue Review
A newsletter for contracting institutional and professional providers

June 2019

BCBSIL Hosts Its Inaugural Physician Diversity Summit

By: Dr. Derek J. Robinson, M.D., MBA, FACEP, CHCQM, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL)

Many thanks to those of you who were able to attend our Blue UniversitySM event last month. This event brought distinguished speakers and guests together to continue the discussion on health equity and social determinants of health. With Blue University and other events, our intent is to help spotlight areas where important themes intersect. For example, how do health equity, cultural competency and implicit bias relate to the physician workforce shortage and disparities in the number of underrepresented minorities practicing medicine in Illinois?

In March, BCBSIL convened local and national leaders in premedical, undergraduate, and graduate medical education programs for the inaugural “Physician Diversity and Health Equity: The Imperative for Increasing Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine” summit. Given BCBSIL’s relationships with academic medical centers and teaching hospitals as well as community and philanthropic organizations, we believe that we have a unique voice that can serve as a catalyst to drive significant improvement in physician diversity. We were pleased to welcome more than 125 attendees representing the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), academic medical centers, medical schools, and provider groups across the state. Summit discussion focused on developing a call to action and collective goals for improving diversity in medicine.

My colleague Jenné Johns, Director, Quality Improvement and Health Equity, Medical Management, BCBSIL, reflected recently on ways the summit was successful. “It gave participants the opportunity to dig in deep around historical trends, such as the imperative to address unconscious bias in medicine. This is necessary to facilitate culturally competent patient-centered health care delivery that will ultimately contribute to the elimination of health disparities and improved health outcomes for ethnic groups disproportionately affected by the negative effects of disparities.”

Also discussed were innovative programs that hospitals and community organizations are launching to help close gaps to change the trend. The Northwestern Medicine Scholars Program at Westinghouse College Prep, a public high school in Chicago, is an example of a pipeline program seeking to level the field when it comes to minorities pursuing a career in medicine. The program was founded in 2011 by Dr. Erica Marsh, formerly at Northwestern and now an OB-GYN physician at the University of Michigan. By providing mentoring with physicians and researchers, intensive summer and test prep courses, and college entrance support, the scholars program offers students a realistic look at the lives of physicians and research scientists, giving students the inspiration to say, I can do this, too.

It’s important to identify the challenges at hand so we can continue to make headway, not just now, but for generations to come. Our lessons learned from this convening will serve as an important foundation for our physician diversity efforts and help set the stage for stronger and results driven multi-stakeholder engagement. BCBSIL is committed to broad support to improve health equity including: 

  • Serving as a national model for workplace diversity through culture, recruitment, and training;
  • Incorporating social determinant of health data and goals into our business operations to help reduce health disparities;
  • Exposing undergraduate students to the pipeline of career tracks in health care and health insurance industries through internships; 
  • Introducing careers in health care to middle and high school students through sponsored STEAM programs;
  • Providing annual cultural competency and implicit bias trainings for medical providers;
  • Hosting medical provider forums focused on health equity; and
  • Supporting academic research focused on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities.

Health inequities and health care disparities exist all around us. I encourage you to get involved in any way you can to help put the pieces together and become part of the solution. Do you have ideas you’d like to share to keep the conversation going? Email our Blue Review editor!

Learn more about Dr. Derek J. Robinson

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.