title: Addressing racial and ethnic barriers to effective health care: the need for better data.
abstract: Racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes and quality of care have been observed among persons with similar health insurance, within the same system of care, and within the same health plan. National efforts to eliminate these disparities are hindered by the lack of race/ethnicity data. Collection of these data by health care providers, coupled with standards for collection, use, and privacy protection, would be a first step toward eliminating disparities. Although no national consensus exists with respect to data collection, the weight of prior research, related public and private efforts, and growing diversity of the U.S. population are likely to increase demand for accurate data on race and ethnicity in health care settings.
authors.affiliation: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, USA.
authors.forename: Arlene S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bierman
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lurie
authors.forename: Karen Scott
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
mesh_terms: D019352:Censuses; D003219:Confidentiality; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017149:Private Sector; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology