Health equity is the fair and just opportunity for every individual to achieve their full potential in all aspects of health and well-being. Healthcare organizations are on the front lines of addressing health equity. They play vital roles in delivering care, offering products to access care, employers, and social safety nets in their communities.
The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions wanted to understand what health care organizations are doing to address health equity. We surveyed 20 CEOs and interviewed 28 additional executives from health systems, health plans, and the pharmaceutical sector.
The findings revealed:
Health equity is a top priority for many organizations. Half of the CEOs surveyed said health equity was among their top three organizational priorities for 2021. Every interview revealed leadership and/or financial commitment to health equity.
Organizations are at different stages in their health equity journey. Some organizations have had executive leadership focused on health equity for years. Others are just beginning to define what health equity means for their organization.
Leaders are taking many different approaches toward health equity. Some executives viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as strongly linked to health equity, while others had different approaches to diversity efforts in their workforces.
Strategies to Drive Change
Effective strategies to drive change throughout the organization include:
Change needs to be driven from the top. A clear strategy and vision for health equity should come from top leadership, including the board. These leaders should also understand the specific needs of the communities they serve so that their organizations can then determine how to help address those needs.
Leaders need a shared understanding that health equity is a moral and business imperative. Health equity should be instilled in each part of the business, not an add-on measure, to ensure accountability. A mix of organizational data on how disparities affect the bottom line and personal stories from patients and employees can make a clear argument for investment in health equity.
Change needs to be funded and supported. Health equity initiatives that are not well funded or not led from the top are at a high risk of failure or neglect, especially when cost reduction becomes a priority.
A chief equity officer role and a clear governance structure should be created. A named leader, including a clear structure of responsibilities, ensures accountability and execution of health equity strategies for the organization.
Efforts should be measured and evaluated. Efforts to achieve health equity should have clear goals and measures to track progress and provide insights to continue or shift strategies and investments.
Conclusion
Achieving health equity requires leaders to deliberately design and build systems where the outcome is advancing health equity. Each leader should be accountable, and every initiative should be measured for impact on investment. Success can be dependent on long-term strategic and financial commitment to leadership.
