CV Specialists Concerned About Disparities
in Cardiac Care
July 2003
Dear Colleague,
Last year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the report Unequal
Treatment, which concluded, based on an extensive review of the literature,
that racial/ethnic disparities in patient care occur for a number of medical
conditions. A subsequent report, Racial/Ethnic
Differences in Cardiac Care: The Weight of the Evidence, produced
by the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and the American College
of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), found that racial/ethnic disparities in
cardiac care persist even when factors such as patient income, insurance
status, and severity of heart disease are comparable.
Both reports acknowledge that a range of factors
at the level of the patient, the clinician, and the
health care system are likely involved in health
care disparities. However, one of the barriers to
addressing these factors is a lack of recognition
by the public and the medical community that a problem
exists.
To help raise physician awareness of the evidence around disparities
in patient care, the ACCF, the American Heart Association, and the Association
of Black Cardiologists have joined an initiative called “Why the
Difference?” The initiative, undertaken by KFF and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, and cosponsored by ten other national organizations
representing medicine, public health and business, seeks to enlist physicians
in a dialogue about why treatment differentials occur and how to address
them.
Enclosed is a fact sheet that summarizes the KFF/ACCF report on racial/ethnic
differences in cardiac care and a copy of the Initiative advertisement
that appeared in leading medical journals for a 6-month period. For a
free copy of the report, call (800) 656-4533 or visit the Initiative
website at http://www.kff.org/whythedifference.
When you go to the web site, you can also:
- Submit your thoughts on how to eliminate disparities
- Link to guidelines designed to improve cardiac care outcomes
- Learn about related resources and about upcoming events
I urge you to take the time to review the evidence on this issue and
become actively engaged in efforts to find solutions to racial/ethnic
disparities in patient care. If you would like to host a discussion on
the topic in your local ACC chapter, please contact (INSERT NAME, PHONE,
or EMAIL of ACC Contact).
Sincerely,
Carl Pepine, M.D., MACC
President, American College of Cardiology |
