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Mission
The Disparities Solutions Center is dedicated to the development and implementation of strategies that advance policy and practice to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care. The Disparities Solutions Center will achieve this mission by:
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Serving as a change agent by developing new research and translating innovative research findings into policy and practice
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Developing and evaluating customized policy and practice solutions for health care providers, insurers, educators, community organizations, and other stakeholders
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Providing education and leadership training to expand the community of skilled individuals dedicated to eliminating health care disparities
About The Center
The Disparities Solutions Center is the first to be based in a hospital, which supports its practical focus on moving the issue of disparities in health care beyond research and into the arenas of policy and practice. The Center will serve as a national, regional, and local resource for hospitals, physician practices, community health centers, medical schools, other health professions schools, health plans and insurers, consumer organizations, state and local governments, foundations, and other key health care stakeholders.
The Disparities Solutions Center has received an initial funding commitment from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Partners HealthCare. Housed within the Mongan Institute for Health Policy, the Center is affiliated with Harvard Medical School’s Department of Medicine and the MGH Division of General Medicine.
Motivation
The creation of The Disparities Solutions Center follows and builds upon a commitment by MGH to eliminate health care disparities. MGH first established a system-wide Committee on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in 2003 to focus internal attention on the challenge of disparities, improve the collection of race/ethnicity data, and implement quality improvement programs to reduce disparities. The Center has been established in response to the national and local calls to action to address disparities in health care.
- National. In March 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the landmark report Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. The IOM report revealed striking disparities in the quality of health care services delivered to minority and white patients. As a result, the IOM urged the development of interventions and educational efforts to eliminate disparities.
- Boston. Following a two-year process involving health experts, community leaders, and city residents, on June 23, 2005 Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched a citywide project aimed at eliminating disparities in health care. The Mayor’s recommendations include concrete action steps for hospitals and other health care organizations.
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