Minority Communities Deserve Access to High-Tech Hospital Procedures
In health care today, there’s a good deal of talk about health equity — the fair opportunity for every person to attain their best possible health. Many people think the key to equity is access, and that is part of the complex mix of factors that have created such large racial disparities in health outcomes.
Access is Not Enough
But access is only one part of the answer. It’s just as important to identify what individuals and communities have access to. True equity means everyone can access the same innovative, high-quality medical services, tools and technologies, whether they live in more affluent or challenged areas. Quality care shouldn’t depend on where you live or how much you can pay.
Disparities in Health Care
While the majority of health centers nationwide have adopted electronic health records, disparities persist within localities in the availability of enhanced tools, such as cutting-edge, newer technologies, patient portals, access to specialists, telehealth and more.
Examples of Disparities
For example, 3D mammography has become the standard of care for breast imaging and provides more accurate detection and fewer false positives, but it remains limited in many underserved neighborhoods across Chicago.
It’s not equitable for a predominantly Black community — which has disproportionately higher mortality rates from breast cancer — to not have easy access to the same life-saving tools available in other hospitals in more affluent areas of the same city.
Health Care Disparities Perpetuate Racial Gaps
Many studies have shown even when minority patients do have access to treatment, they are less likely to receive the best treatment, like robotic surgery, an innovation that can lead to less pain, faster recovery, fewer complications, less blood loss and a greater likelihood of survival.
Disparities like these don’t just perpetuate racial gaps in health outcomes — they actively increase those gaps by leaving certain patients behind while others benefit from ever-greater innovation.
A Solution: Providing High-Tech Care to Underserved Communities
Sinai Chicago is an example of how a safety net hospital system serving a low-income area can deliver high-quality, innovative, high-tech care that helps to level the playing field.
We’re located in economically challenged Black and Latino neighborhoods where health outcomes are historically worse than elsewhere in the region. We’re challenged by the financial barriers that put fulfilling our mission of providing care for all in need at direct odds with the economic realities of a Medicaid reimbursement system that doesn’t pay enough to cover the cost of care. More than two-thirds of our patients are on Medicaid, and nearly 15% have no insurance.
But we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure our communities get the care they deserve. Over the last few years, we’ve invested heavily in the same technologies that providers in the wealthiest Chicago communities offer, like robotic surgery, 3D mammography, a state-of-the-art electronic health records system and online patient portals.
Examples of High-Tech Care
At Mount Sinai Hospital, we recently performed one of the first pediatric gallbladder surgeries in the U.S. using the Senhance robot. A hysterectomy patient is able to have a virtually scarless surgery, go home sooner and be back on her feet faster. State-of-the-art 3D mammogram and breast imaging services allow us to detect cancer earlier.
A Call to Action
Real equity isn’t just about providing the basics. It’s about everyone having access to the advanced resources and innovations that exist so all people — regardless of ZIP code or race — have their best chance to lead a long, healthy life.
Conclusion
We must work together to ensure that minority communities have access to high-tech hospital procedures and innovative health care solutions. It’s not just a moral imperative, but a matter of equality and social justice.
FAQs
Q: Why is access to high-tech hospital procedures important for minority communities?
A: Access to high-tech hospital procedures is important for minority communities because it can lead to better health outcomes, improved patient satisfaction, and reduced health disparities.
Q: What are some examples of high-tech hospital procedures that can benefit minority communities?
A: Examples of high-tech hospital procedures that can benefit minority communities include robotic surgery, 3D mammography, electronic health records, patient portals, telehealth, and more.
Q: How can healthcare providers ensure that minority communities have access to these procedures?
A: Healthcare providers can ensure that minority communities have access to these procedures by investing in the same technologies and innovations that are available in more affluent areas, providing education and training on these technologies, and addressing systemic barriers to access such as provider bias and health insurance disparities.
