Using Data to Tackle Health Inequalities

Systemic healthcare disparities in the US and abroad result in poorer health outcomes for marginalized groups, even when controlling for other factors. Addressing disparities in care and outcomes will require detailed information on what causes health disparities, who is affected by them, and where do they occur. The CVS Health Equity Action Group, organized to address health inequity through a data-driven manner, will use data from several different sources to identify affected groups and contributing factors.

According to Lucille Accetta of US News, “As a leading pharmacy benefit manager, CVS Caremark has prescription claim data for 1 in 3 Americans. By combining this information with publicly available data from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, we built a data layer that – based on several indices of social determinants of health – can tell us not only what disparities may exist, but where those impacted are located.”

To read more, click here.

(Source: US News, April 7^th, 2022)