As President and Chief Executive Officer of the HealthWell Foundation, I am acutely aware of the significant cost barriers that keep patients from accessing life-changing, and oftentimes lifesaving, medications. Decades of scientific breakthroughs have created a world in which many patients with chronic illnesses have real hope for relief of…more.
Many of us can find reasons to celebrate at this time of year: the upcoming holidays. The promise of a bright new year. Our good health and general well-being. Here at the HealthWell Foundation, we have lots of reasons to celebrate. We celebrate our generous donors for helping us assist…more.
Access to health care and the opportunity to achieve optimal health should not depend on where people live, their socioeconomic status, or their race and ethnicity, but as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, that is not always the case. COVID-related disparities served to shine a light on other areas of…more.
Throughout 2022, Real World Health Care is covering the issue of racial and ethnic health disparities. This week, we explore the topic through the lens of gout, a type of arthritis that has a higher prevalence among racial and ethnic minorities, especially Blacks, than whites. Michael Spigler, vice president of…more.
Studies have shown that cancer disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minority groups, however, these groups remain underrepresented in cancer clinical trials.1,2,3 With unique insights into issues facing underrepresented patient populations, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) recently developed consensus-driven recommendations to improve diversity, equity and accessibility in cancer research.…more.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) have long-term, far-reaching, and not always obvious ramifications in people’s lives, including their risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). These disparities were made clear by a 2020 report issued by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Urban Institute. The report found that deep social inequities –…more.
First identified in 1989, the hepatitis C virus (HCV) kills thousands of people in the United States each year. An estimated 2.4 million Americans live with chronic hepatitis C infection, which if left untreated can result in serious, even life-threatening health problems like cirrhosis and liver cancer. While HCV knows…more.
More than 9.2 million Americans live with gout, but only 10 percent of people with gout are getting the ongoing treatment they need. The lack of proper treatment is particularly acute among Black patients, who have a 25 percent higher prevalence of the disease but are much less likely to…more.
Precision medicine – treatments that are based on an individual’s specific genetics and the cancer cell’s genes – holds great promise for lung cancer patients. For all patients, precision medicine is made possible through a type of advanced diagnostic testing called biomarker testing. However, for some racial and ethnic minorities,…more.
A study published by the Commonwealth Fund in late 2021 found that health systems across the United States are failing people of color. According to the study, Achieving Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Health Care: A Scorecard of State Performance, Black Americans in nearly every state are more likely…more.
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