The document discusses how healthcare disparities exist based on factors such as race, geography, and age. It describes how minorities, rural populations, and the elderly often face barriers to accessing healthcare. However, technologies like telehealth, electronic health records, and e-learning can help reduce these disparities by improving access to services, specialists, and health education regardless of location. The strategic use of informatics and health information technology can help manage large patient populations and deliver more equitable care.

1. The role of informatics in
reducing healthcare disparities

2. Definition of healthcare
disparities
 Healthcare disparities
refer to differences in
access to or availability
of facilities and services.
Health status disparities
refer to the variation in
rates of disease
occurrence and
disabilities between
socioeconomic and/or
geographically defined
population groups.

3. A few common healthcare disparities
 Race/ethnicity
 Geographical location
 Age

4. Snapshot of Minorities in Health
Care
 Greater than 20% of population are
minorities
 Higher chances for disease than Caucasians
 Higher morbidity and mortality rates
 Causes include:
 Lack of education
 Unhealthy living
 Poverty


5. Technology and Minorities
• E-Learning
– Access to information that could improve:
• Prevention of disease through healthier lifestyles
• Disease management
• Re-admission rates since patients are better managing their
disease
• Tele-health
– Improves access to specialists
• Minorities often need access to:
– Cardiologists
– Endocrinologists
– Oncologists

6. Snapshot of Rural Health Care
 20% of the population live in rural areas
 9% of physicians practice in rural areas
 Patients in rural areas are:
 Typically older
 Less able to access transportation
 Lower education
 Higher poverty rates
 Have more disabilities

7. Snapshot of Rural Health Care Cont.
 Low penetration of Health Care
Information Technologies due to:
 Nursing shortage
 Lack of informatics competence of healthcare
workers
 Poor connectivity

8. Technology and Rural Health
Care
• Electronic Health Records
• Can link large health care systems with smaller rural
hospitals
» Increased access to resources
» Improves continuity of care
• Health Information Exchanges
• Connects urban and rural health facilities
» Increased access to resources
» Improves continuity of care
» Reduces costs of providing care
» Increases access to specialists

9. Technology and Rural Health
Care
 Telehealth
 Provides rural facilities access to urban health
care facilities
 Increased access to specialists
 Better patient outcomes
 Tele-home Care
 Able to monitor patients at home
 Reduce re-admissions to hospital
 Enable patients to manage diseases at home

10. Technology and Rural Health
Care
• Social Networking
– Health related social networking sites
• Patient related
– Education on disease management, nutrition and healthy
lifestyle
• Clinician Related
– Improved practice
– Increases knowledge
– Improved outcomes

11. Technology and Rural Health
Care
• E-learning
– Patients have access to education material
from anywhere
• Disease management
• Less re-admits to hospitals
– Clinicians have access to ongoing
professional training
• Increases trained resources in the rural areas,
helping with workforce shortages

12. Snapshot of the elderly relating to
healthcare
 Many elderly people live on a small fixed income
which limits access to healthcare.
 Poor mobility limits ability of the elderly to get to
appointments easily and quickly.
 Often the elderly lack adequate transportation to
physically go to appointments again relating back
to income limitations.
 Lack of internet access currently only 15% of
Americans over the age of 65 have internet access
in their homes.

13. Some ways technology can help
manage health for the elderly
 E-learning tools can help empower the
patient with better self management of their
diseases.
 Having a personal health record allows the
patient to have a more complete and
accurate record available for all physicians
to review at the time of office visits or
hospital stays.

14. How technology can help
manage health for the elderly
(con’t)
 Tele-health can help provide monitoring of
chronic conditions in the home setting
which potentially could help to prevent
inpatient hospital admissions or high
utilization of emergency room visits.

15. So why here and why now?
 "At a time when millions
of lower-income,
previously uninsured
individuals will be gaining
healthcare coverage
through health reform, it is
vital that both public and
private delivery systems
develop strategies to ensure
that the great benefits of
HIT systems are shared
equitably. This is a social
justice imperative."

16. Conclusions
Currently we are at a crossroads in the
future of healthcare in our country.
Millions of people will be insured
through the implementation of the
healthcare reform act adding them
into the healthcare system. Through
the strategic use of technology
management with informatics we
can help manage this larger
population. Additionally with the
use of technology in underserved
minorities who are inadequately
serviced currently in the healthcare
system we can hopefully help to
balance the scales and render more
equitable quality care to all.

17. References
Http://library.ahima.Org/xpedio/groups/public/do
cuments/ahima/bok1_043826.hcsp?
dDocName=bok1_043826
 Http://seer.Cancer.Gov/publications/disparities/m
d_defining.pdf
 Http://www.nlm.nih.Gov/hsrinfo/disparities.Html
 Http://en.wikipedia.Org/wiki/health_disparities

18. References
 Baldwin, D.M. (2003, Jan 31). Disparities
in heath and health care: Focusing efforts
to eliminate unequal burdens. Online
Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retried from
http://gm6.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCat
egories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/
OJIN/TableofContents/Volume82003/No1J
an2003/DisparitiesinHealthandHealthCare.
html

19. References
 Effiken, J.A., Abbott, P. (2009). Health IT-
enabled care for underserved rural
populations: The role of nursing. J AM
Med Inform Assoc, 16(4), 439-445.
doi:10.1197/jamia.m2973

20. Outline
 Introduction – Michelle 11/30
 Minorities – Nancy 11/30
 Rural Health – Nancy 11/30
 Elderly – Michelle 11/30
 Conclusion – Michelle 11/30
 Assembly – Nancy 12/2