Center on Health Equity and Access

A cross-sectional study showed that patients experiencing homelessness were at more than 2-fold greater age-adjusted mortality risk due to COVID-19 compared with the general population, with these increased risks observed across race/ethnicity and sex status.

At the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2022 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exposition, Angela M. Hill, PharmD, CPh, RPh, professor and associate dean of clinical affairs; project director, WE-CARE, University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy, will receive the ASHP-ABHP Joint Leadership award for her leadership in addressing health equities.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president of government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical adviser of AccessHope in Duarte, California, spoke on the influence that the California Cancer Care Equity Act is having on legislative efforts in other states, as well as future steps to promote accessible, affordable, and effective cancer care for patients nationwide.

The State of Lung Cancer 2022 report issued by the American Lung Association illustrates aspects of diagnosis and care that require additional attention to address disparities and increase nationwide screening and treatment engagement while reducing risk factor exposure.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president of government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical adviser of AccessHope in Duarte, California, spoke on how the California Cancer Care Equity Act will allow oncologists to escalate the care of patients with advanced cancers toward established centers that can better meet their needs, as well as implications from the decision to exclude genomic testing coverage in the bill.

A panel including several experts in cardiology discussed the ways that heart failure (HF) can be diagnosed and treated using the new 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guidelines.

Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, FNLA, professor of medicine and the Gerald S. Berenson Endowed Chair in Preventative Cardiology, Tulane University School of Medicine, discusses the results of the recently halted FRESH trial, why there is such a great need for new antihypertensive agents, and possible contributory factors to outcome disparities between Black and White patients.

Jim H. Rhodes, deputy county administrator, Camden County, New Jersey, spoke on how his organization’s membership with the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) has aided their value-based initiatives in improving health equity in the region.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president of government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical adviser of AccessHope in Duarte, California, discusses the recently passed Cancer Care Equity Act in California that provides access to clinical trials and advanced care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

Several elements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) align with CMS’ goals of promoting equity through health policy, explained A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co–editor in chief of The American Journal of Managed Care® and director of the V-BID Center at the University of Michigan.

Despite known racial disparities in access to advanced heart failure (HF) treatments, the reasons for this continue to require further exploration. In this new study, investigators searched for associations between ventricular assist device use and heart transplant and race (Black or White).

Coverage from the Irvine, California, meeting of the Institute for Value-Based Medicine, chaired by Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president for government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical advisor, AccessHope.

The latest updates in lung cancer screening guidelines will help address disparities in certain populations, but multiple barriers including access to programs and payer coverage remain issues.

The first 5 minutes of a patient’s visit with a doctor can help improve communication and build more trusting relationships, explained panelists during a session on lung health disparities in America at CHEST 2022.

Continuing the race adjustment factors maintains health care disparities, the authors noted.

On World Lung Cancer Day, we explore current guidelines for lung cancer screening in the United States, implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and disparities in mortality and access to care by race and socioeconomic status.