Equity Metrics Should Be An Essential Component Of Hospital Rankings
Several Boston-based physicians discuss how equity metrics must be embedded into mainstream hospital rankings.
In March 1966, at a press conference prior to the Second Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated that “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.” With a vocal public demanding more for Black and Brown lives—more justice, more representation, more access to education, housing, financial stability, and health care—hospitals and health care associations around the United States have announced vigorous and sweeping anti-racism campaigns. They have vowed to do better for their patients, staff, and communities. They have promised to focus on the equitable delivery of high-quality care to all patients and change their systems and practices to eliminate bias in hiring, retention, and promotion of staff. To truly ensure that hospitals live up to these goals, robust health equity metrics must be incorporated into mainstream hospital ranking systems.