![]() ![]() It is important to note that all patients with severe or complex cardiac problems are already triaged to the cardiology service, restricting the possibility that such a program will limit beds for severely ill cardiac patients. The pilot program is not designed to create better or preferential care for some patients over others, but rather to address the inequities in care that have been identified. Does this affect the care of patients who aren’t Black or Latinx? Clinicians are always free to make judgments about appropriate triage based on illness severity, and there is flexibility to override the computerized recommendations where there is a compelling rationale. The notice does not restrict clinicians’ individual judgment and decision-making in consideration of the best interests of the patient. The prompt will educate the clinician about the fact that, historically, this population has had inequitable access to specialized cardiology care and offer a recommendation to consider changing admission to the cardiology service. How does this program work?įor patients who self-identify as Black or Latinx, and present to the emergency department with heart failure, physicians will receive a prompt when a bed request is entered to admit the patient to the hospital’s general medical service unit. The research team plans to monitor the heart failure outcomes of this approach for all patients by race, ethnicity, and other demographics. Over the course of a year, the pilot program aims to improve access for patients who historically have not had equitable access to specialized cardiology care. This study found that patients who self-identified as Black or Latinx were less likely to be admitted to cardiology services, even after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. ![]() The pilot program, which will focus on our heart failure patients, aims to address the longstanding racial inequities identified in a recent research study. Structural racism, which has historically targeted people of color in the United States through institutional practices and public policies, perpetuates racial inequity and leads to disparities in health and disease for our patients of color. Why are we instituting this program?Īs part of our system's United Against Racism campaign, we support efforts focused on improving patient access and experience, community health and advocacy, and increasing the diversity of leadership. To address this, the Brigham will soon implement a pilot program that aims to improve access for Black and Latinx patients who historically have not had equitable access to specialized cardiology care by providing educational notices to clinicians about this disparity when they are admitting patients with heart failure to the hospital. Addressing this disparity is critical as admission to this service has been independently associated with lower readmission rates and mortality. Results from a recent study found that patients with heart failure who self-identified as Black or Latinx were less likely than white patients to be admitted to the hospital’s specialized cardiology service, even after adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. Racism is one of the most important public health crises of our time. As part of our system's United Against Racism campaign, we support efforts focused on improving patient access and experience, community health and advocacy, and increasing the diversity of leadership. The Brigham is committed to examining and eliminating the many impacts that racism has on the health and well-being of our patients. ![]()
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