A Matter of Trust: Act for Health Equity

I’m honored to contribute to this commentary calling for national action for racial and health equity:

We call for:

1. Prioritizing racial and health equity by health care organizational leadership and governance
2. Accountability to communities most impacted by racial and other health inequities
3. Measurement and reduction of racial and other health inequities
4. Expanding and ensuring access to high-quality, patient- and family-centered, whole person health care
5. Leveraging payment to achieve racial and other health equity
6. Integrating racial and health equity in medical education and training
7. Centering racial and health equity in health services research

We believe that these are steps that organizations can and must take now to lay the groundwork for meaningful progress toward broader health equity goals. They represent a clear list of specific, measurable actions and policies that organizational leaders, including boards and C-suite executives, should be called upon to implement as key to dismantling bias and discrimination in all its forms and counteracting structural racism. These actions are both possible and feasible for all health care organizations to undertake now – they are actions that organizations reasonably can be both supported and held accountable to implement.