The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) have formed the Rise to Health Coalition in collaboration with Race Forward. This national initiative aims to mobilize healthcare stakeholders to take collective action toward achieving health equity. The coalition focuses on care access, workforce diversity, social determinants of health, and quality of care. It aims to empower individuals and organizations, inspire mindset shifts, and influence healthcare policy and practices to address systemic disparities and promote equity.
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), in collaboration with Race Forward, have joined forces to establish the Rise to Health Coalition. This nationwide initiative aims to mobilize healthcare players to take collective action in addressing health equity issues, with a particular focus on improving care access, promoting workforce diversity, addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), and enhancing the quality of care.
The Rise to Health Coalition has been formed in response to the lack of effective and coordinated strategies to advance health equity. Its primary objective is to galvanize individuals and healthcare organizations, equipping them with the necessary resources and tools to drive transformative change on a national scale.
At the core of the coalition’s mission is the recognition that eliminating health inequities necessitates confronting systemic racism within the healthcare system. The Rise to Health Coalition seeks to build a cohesive and inclusive national strategy that promotes racial justice across healthcare, ultimately eliminating disparities in the health outcomes of all patients.
Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the President of the AMA, expressed the significance of the coalition’s launch, emphasizing the need to anchor the AMA, healthcare, and the entire healthcare system around the principle of equity. He stressed that ending systemic racism in healthcare is crucial for achieving health equity for everyone, and the Rise to Health Coalition’s comprehensive and unified approach will facilitate progress in advancing racial justice and eliminating healthcare inequities.
The Rise to Health Coalition aims to unite a diverse range of healthcare players, including healthcare organizations, individual physicians, payers, pharmaceutical groups, providers, biotech organizations, and professional societies. Through collaboration, these stakeholders will address systemic disparities head-on and foster a culture of health equity.
Dr. Kedar Mate, the President and CEO of IHI, emphasized the coalition’s focus on actionable health equity. The initiative seeks to move beyond merely identifying health inequities by generating tangible results that positively impact individuals. Dr. Mate highlighted the importance of measurable progress in growing the movement and convinced skeptics that meaningful and sustainable improvements are possible through collective action.
The coalition’s goals center on important facets of healthcare, such as workforce diversity, access to care, social determinants of health, and quality of care. First and foremost, the Rise to Health program seeks to equip people and healthcare organizations with useful skills and resources to bring about change. It also aims to provoke long-lasting changes in narratives and mindsets inside the healthcare industry. The group also aims to change healthcare standards, practices, education, payment mechanisms, and policy.
To achieve these objectives, the coalition plans to undertake various actions, such as eliminating race-based clinical algorithms, addressing disparities through quality and safety methods, reporting harm events to recognize inequities, offering equitable benefits and incentives, and ensuring affordable access to therapeutics. The coalition also intends to develop a range of resources to support individuals and organizations in strengthening their health equity efforts. These resources will include continuously updated programs, virtual peer-to-peer learning opportunities, networking platforms, and technical support, adapting to emerging solutions as they arise.
In recent years, the AMA has made significant commitments to improving health equity. It released a three-year strategic plan in 2021 that specifically tackles the most pressing health equity challenges in the industry. As part of this plan, the AMA has confronted its history of racism, fostering pathways to healing and reconciliation. Additionally, the AMA has formed partnerships with institutions like Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Joint Commission, jointly launching a learning network to assist hospital systems in integrating health equity principles into their quality and safety practices. Furthermore, the AMA has invested $3 million over multiple years to enhance health outcomes on Chicago’s west side, reaffirming its dedication to advancing health equity.
Through these initiatives and collaborations, the AMA has taken tangible steps toward fulfilling its commitments and driving meaningful progress in the pursuit of health equity.
