Statewide Physician Diversity Council working to reduce health care disparities

As a part of our efforts to address systematic inequities in health care delivery in the state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently launched the Physician Diversity Council. The council is a key initiative of the Office of Health and Health Care Disparities, formed in December 2020.

The council first met in November 2021 with a founding group of 18 members from inside and outside of Blue Cross. Current participants include:

• Representatives from the Michigan State Medical Society, Michigan Psychiatric Society, Michigan Osteopathic Association and Wayne County Medical Society
• Health care professionals working with medical students
• Health care professionals working with the LGBTQ+ community and other groups facing health care disparities
• Health care professionals working within the field of geriatrics and other specialty areas

Blue Cross team members include medical directors overseeing several areas of the business who seek to gain insights from the other council members.

“Physicians, nurses and other key professionals are a critical component to building equity into health outcomes,” said Dr. James Grant, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross. “We are honored to have this founding group of partners on our Physician Diversity Council that represent many different respected medical societies and communities.”

The Physician Diversity Council is addressing such issues as:

• Bias
• Health equity
• Representation in the provider community
• Cultural competency
• Gaps in resources
• Access for providers serving underserved communities
• Other factors related to health care disparities that influence care quality and outcomes.

“As we continue to evolve our health equity strategy, it’s exciting to work with the Physician Diversity Council,” said Bridget Hurd, vice president of Inclusion and Diversity at Blue Cross. “Members of Blue Cross will have the opportunity to hear the voices of our partners and facilitate a path that we can take together to address health and health care disparities, and other inequities as they relate to health care quality, access and social determinants of health.”

Blue Cross has taken a systemic approach to building equity into health outcomes, using data and analytics to guide initiatives (including community investments and health screening and outreach services), as well as evaluating policies and processes.

Unconscious bias education
In 2020, Blue Cross began offering unconscious bias education, sometimes called implicit bias education, to health care providers participating in the Physician Group Incentive Program. As you read in the previous issue of this newsletter, more than 5,000 PGIP participants completed unconscious bias education by the summer of 2021.

Unconscious bias is a prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person or group that is based on stereotypes or generalizations. The purpose of this education was to increase awareness among providers and help to reduce unconscious bias in health care and positively affect clinical decision-making, patient experience and safety.
 
Providers on the council said addressing health and health care disparities can be challenging because of issues associated with gathering data, coordinating services and juggling multiple priorities when trying to care for patients. However, at the same time, council members maintained that health disparities, social determinants of health and cultural competency are among the top issues their practices and organizations are working to address.

The council will also seek to better support health care professionals in their work to develop health equity strategies, and to find tangible ways to make a difference in the lives of patients.

For more information
To read more about what Blue Cross and health providers are doing to help eliminate inequities in health care delivery, check out these articles in our series on addressing health care disparities:

• Blue Cross launches Office of Health and Health Care Disparities
• Addressing implicit bias in health care can improve care delivery
• Social determinants of health
• Addressing health care disparities among people in the LGBTQ+ community
• Blue Cross commits to reducing racial disparities in maternal health

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.