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How Does HealthPartners Reduce Health Disparities?

Beth Averbeck, MD; Associate Medical Director for Primary Care, HealthPartners

Have trouble viewing this video? Read the transcript.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this activity, you will be able to:
  • Describe HealthPartners’ goal in respect to quality and equity.
  • Explain how providing all recommended care at every visit helps reduce disparities.
  • Discuss one improvement that has helped improve care and reduce disparities.

Description: HealthPartners, an integrated health system in Minnesota, has been working on improving health disparities since the Institute of Medicine identified equity as one of the aims for health care improvement in its 2001 report, Crossing the Quality Chasm. In this video, Dr. Beth Averbeck explains HealthPartners’ goal for reducing disparities and how a test of change resulted in improvement.

Discussion Questions:
  1. Do you think health care organizations should prioritize equitable delivery of care? Of the reasons for equity listed in this video, which do you find most compelling?
  2. Why do you think the pink ticket process is so effective at ensuring all patients receive recommended mammograms?
  3. How do you think HealthPartners staff feel about processes that involve all members of the care team? Do you think such processes add to the team’s workload, or do you think they could save time?
  4. Have you been part of a clinical system that sought to provide all recommended care at each visit? What was most remarkable about it? Have you worked in a clinical system that was set up another way? What was that like?
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