Health Inequity and Racism Affects Patients and Health Care Workers Alike

Covid-19 is taking a toll on health care organizations’ ability to provide equitable access to care, revealing that much work needs to be done to overcome disparities in care, according to a recent NEJM Catalyst Insights Council survey on health equity.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has magnified issues to the extent that disparities in care delivery can no longer be ignored,” says Lisa Cooper, MD, MPH, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Equity in Health and Healthcare, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Countries and health systems across the globe have been immobilized, in large part, due to health inequities between more and less advantaged groups.”

Two data points in the Insights Council survey — which was conducted among a qualified group of executives, clinical leaders, and clinicians at organizations worldwide who are directly involved in health care delivery — drive this home: 48% of respondents indicate there are widespread disparities in care delivery at their organization and 47% say Covid-19 has worsened their organizations’ ability to provide equitable access to care.