“You can’t achieve true health equity without addressing racism”
If you’re serious about health and health care equity, you have to be prepared to go deeper to understand the barriers and be compelled to remove them. If we truly want to enable people’s ability to thrive, live more healthy years, and contribute at their full potential, then we must suspend bias, become active listeners, and co-design impactful solutions with those we wish to serve.
— Ronald L. Copeland, MD, FACS, Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer and Senior Vice President of National Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Policy, Kaiser Permanente
Speaking with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Kaiser Permanente’s Dr. Ronald Copeland discusses why systemic racism is a determinant of health, and equitable health is a dimension of clinical quality improvement.
In a 2-part interview, Dr. Copeland outlines a framework for removing barriers to health equity, providing culturally competent care, addressing unconscious bias, and using data to address interpersonal and systemic racism in the workplace.
While Kaiser Permanente has a longstanding history of inclusiveness and nondiscrimination, the tragedies of the last weeks and months remind us of the need for intentional work to confront and eliminate systemic racism. Kaiser Permanente is continuing to refine and augment its approach for making inclusion and equity in health care a reality.
Read the full interview
“You Can’t Achieve True Health Equity Without Addressing Racism” – Part I and Part II
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If you’re a health care leader based outside the United States, you’re invited to join KP International for The Integrated Health Experience, a virtual program beginning September 15. Along with digital transformation, physician leadership, and numerous other topics, we’ll be discussing many of the issues raised in Dr. Copeland’s interview, such as why health organizations should view health equity as a strategic priority. Learn more about the program.
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