On average, Black and Hispanic patients pay 17.7% and 12.9% more, respectively, in out-of-pocket costs for maternal care compared to white patients, according to a study published Feb. 28.

Many hospitals and health systems have integrated diversity, equity and inclusion into their workforce and patient care strategies.

Using a new index, hospital leaders who decide which procedures are offered by their organization can track how their choices affect patient access, according to findings published in Health Affairs Scholar. 

Over three decades, the difference in average life expectancy between white and Black people in the U.S. narrowed but a gap of three to five years remains, according to research. 

Compared to white men, women and racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to enter academic medicine but less likely to be promoted, according to a study published in JAMA. 

Amid research that has shown pulse oximeters underperform on darker skin tones, the FDA on Jan. 6 issued proposed guidance for manufacturers to improve device accuracy. 

During a panel discussion led by Hanna Patterson, senior vice president of healthcare and applied learning at Guild, a comprehensive education and skilling solution for building talent, as part of Becker's 12th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, a clinician and a c-suite leader from Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth discussed their organization's approach to career growth and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center is the 2024 recipient of the Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity from The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanentete.

Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare is partnering with the Mansfield-based University of Connecticut School of Law to launch a Health Equity Clinic.

Over the past two years, a hypertension equity program has reduced readmissions and maternal morbidity among patients at Providence, R.I.-based Women & Infants Hospital. Now, the hospital is partnering to expand the program statewide. 

Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services has launched a new program aimed at reducing diet-related health disparities.

Health disparities among Medicare Advantage patients in rural areas widened in 2023, a new CMS report shows.

Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai is handing out $20 million in grants this fiscal year to local nonprofits to promote health equity in homelessness and housing, access to care and community response, the health system confirmed to Becker's.

Health equity is a massive topic for hospitals to address, with hundreds of avenues that can be taken in confronting the issue. It's no wonder many leaders are often overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. 

Health systems across the nation are working to improve health equity for patients, but many systems approach the issue with an outcomes-focused lens, which may actually make equity harder to achieve.

Between 34.6% and 50.7% of Medicare beneficiaries with modest incomes may lack sufficient to cover a hospital stay out of pocket, according to a study published Oct. 29 in Annals of Internal Medicine. 

The Biden administration will allocate nearly $9 million in grants aimed at improving women's health access in 14 states and Washington, D.C. 

The Association of American Medical Colleges has awarded UChicago Medicine and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine with the 2024 Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Engagement. 

To fill operating rooms and financial incentives, obstetricians are often performing unneeded cesarean sections on Black women, according to researchers who analyzed about 1 million births across 68 New Jersey hospitals. 

Black Directors Health Equity Agenda, a Chicago-based coalition of Black board directors, seeks to address health disparities in public hospitals and community health centers with a $1.5 million grant from Kaiser Permanente.