Using Race and Ethnicity Data As A Tool for Quality Improvement

HRET with its partners has successfully developed a framework and toolkit for collecting patients’ race, ethnicity and primary language data from patients.  This toolkit:  Collecting Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language Information from Patients is designed to help hospitals, health systems, community health centers, health plans, and other potential users understand the importance of accurate data collection, assess organizational capacity to do so, and implement a framework designed specifically for obtaining information from patients/enrollees about their race, ethnicity, and primary language efficiently, effectively, and respectfully. 

To build upon our previous work, the next phase includes using the data collected by means of the framework and to merge that information with the CMS quality of care measures.  It is imperative for hospitals to collect accurate data in order to understand the populations they serve and develop appropriate targeted interventions.  HRET will also be providing on-site technical training for hospitals implementing the framework in order to collect accurate data and link to quality measures. 

HRET is involved with several quality improvement initiatives linking patient data with CMS quality of care measures stratified by race and ethnicity information.  We have highlighted our current projects and will disseminate reports, articles and papers when complete.

Project Update

 May 2004
 February 2004