The report, released Dec. 6, features survey responses from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, as well as insights from panels and in-depth interviews with healthcare and life sciences executives.
More than 80% of C-suite executives from healthcare and life sciences organizations see health equity as a top-10 goal for 2024, according to the survey. Nearly 50% of respondents expect to increase health equity investments next year.
Health equity leaders in the sector, including those who serve at health systems, told Deloitte that they anticipate a number of challenges in the year ahead. More than half predict regulatory pressures to be a driving force in their strategy, as more organizations — from trade associations to the White House — make health equity a priority of their own. For example, the FDA will now require researchers and companies seeking approval for late-stage clinical trials to submit a plan that ensures diversity among trial participants.
Forty-nine percent of health equity leaders expect an increased focus on patient engagement and outcomes will propel their initiatives forward, according to the report. A focus on health disparities could reduce overall health costs, as health inequities cost Americans an extra $320 billion a year in avoidable costs.
Read the full report here.
