Our top priority at Independence Blue Cross (Independence) is to enhance the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. The many challenges facing this mission were the focus of our first-ever Health Equity Summit last fall.
The 2022 Summit highlighted a wide variety of obstacles to health equity. But it also brought together experts from a diverse range of fields all focused on reimaging health care and transforming care delivery systems to push forward progress toward health equity. Achieving equitable outcomes will require we all commit to changes, including continual education and skill-building, to understand and address structural barriers to health.
What the community has to say about health equity
The main purpose of the IBX Health Equity Summit is to hear from Independence members about what matters most to them. We must understand their concerns and listen to their ideas in order to address the inequitable outcomes we see.
At last fall’s Summit, we did just that. We learned that when it comes to provider interactions there are key factors that determine if a health care experience will be positive or not. The most important things our members discussed wanting during a health care experience are:
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Access to affordable physical and behavioral health care in a timely manner
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Respect from health care providers and their staff
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Time for personal attention
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Empathy and unbiased careClear communication
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Support in coordinating their complex medical needs
While other factors such as access to care also play an important role, these six things were paramount to members to feel like they were receiving equitable, quality care. The full report is available
here.
Understanding health equity
Delivering equitable care demands knowledge of the history of structural barriers to equity in medicine and existing challenges. There are several upcoming opportunities to learn from experts on health equity.
The National Health Equity Grand Rounds Learning Series (CMEs available):
National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center:
Space is also available for our network providers and their staff for the
March of Dimes training, Awareness to Action: Dismantling Bias in Maternal and Infant Healthcare™. Everyone who completes the training by March 2, 2024, will receive a $100 Visa® gift card as compensation for their time and effort.
There are many more resources available to support you in advancing health equity in your practice.
Selected additional resources:
Please reach out to your population health specialist or the health equity team at
healthequity@ibx.com with any specific questions or requests for additional support addressing disparities you have identified.
The 2023 Health Equity Summit
We look forward to hearing from members more at our next Health Equity Summit this October and sharing future results with you, our provider network.