To help health care providers target their interventions, for the first time, MN Community Measurement has also taken a closer look at the gap by comparing the care provided to patients of different racial groups. A statewide look at differences between racial groups reveals, for example, that American Indians are the least likely to achieve health care best practices in four of the ten measures: optimal diabetes care, controlling high blood pressure, receiving appropriate screening for cervical cancer and receiving appropriate childhood immunizations. Patients of Asian descent are the least likely to receive appropriate colorectal cancer screenings.

HealthPartners is among the medical groups most often achieving not only a high rate of achieving best practices for patients enrolled in state-funded health plans but also reducing the gap between this population and their commercially insured patients. They identify as one key element of their success the fact that they have been using their electronic health record system to record patients' race and language preference. They use that information to make sure they have an interpreter available to participate in an upcoming appointment or to plan for health education in the patient's preferred language. HealthPartners Clinics also have instituted a system that generates automatic reminders for patients to come in for preventive screenings, such as a colonoscopy, mammogram or PAP test. "We have made reducing health disparities a top priority," said Dr. Beth Averbeck, Associate Medical Director of HealthPartners, "and have customized our care plans to address the unique health care needs of specific patient groups. For example, we recently launched an initiative aimed at saving lives by providing colorectal cancer screening at an earlier age for African American patients. Organizations such as the American College of Gastroenterology and the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement recommend that regular colorectal cancer screening for African Americans should begin at age 45, compared to age 50 for other races."

SOURCE MN Community Measurement