Health Equity Steering Committee Report

Action 1: Evaluate the feasibility of expanding pre-screening for clinical trials eligibility and identification of barriers to participation to all clinics by FY27.

Action 2: Establish Research Engagement as part of the Office of Patient Experience (partnership with investigators and patients)

Action 3: Have dedicated resources/FTEs work directly with patients and participants to identify barriers to care and research enrollment and to close gaps and provide support.

Action 1: Explore viable models of providing financial support to eligible individuals from underrepresented communities who wish to participate in clinical trials. This may include a specific financial assistance fund or the creation of a foundation, among other avenues.

Action 2: Engage Office of General Counsel and Government and Community Affairs to define allowable patient financial support for clinical trials.

Action 3: Define and establish patient support (travel, lodging, food, wages, etc.) budget requirements for industry-sponsored clinical trials.

Action 4: Establish alignment with UW Medicine Policy on subject payment for a single Cancer Consortium policy.

Action 5: Develop patient access supported guidelines (travel, lodging, food, wages, etc.) for investigator-initiated studies.

Action 1: Define translation requirements for all studies and patient-facing materials.

Action 2: Based on outcome of Action 1, define resource allocations to meet the translation requirements.

Action 3: Review and update scheduling and rooming practices to adequately account for time needed to set up and complete appointments for patients that require interpreter services.

Action 1: Meet Quality and clinical goals for patient-reported demographic collection for new and returning patients across all Fred Hutch Cancer Center clinic sites.

Action 2: In FY25, Quality and clinical dashboards to stratify metrics, where appropriate, by patient demographic domains: race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and language.

Action 3: Analyze and review patient satisfaction data with a health equity lens to identify any disparities in care and improve the patient experience.

Action 4: Develop a health equity dashboard to monitor progress in eliminating and closing gaps in health disparities.

Action 5: Regularly review dashboards and conduct health equity analyses to identify potential disparities.

Action 1: In FY24-25, reduce pain-related ED visits by 5% to address ED overutilization disparity of Black/African American and Asian patients when multiple visits are considered.

Action 2: Utilize social determinants of health (SDOH) screening data to prioritize and allocate resources to supportive care services. 

Action 3: Over the next three fiscal years, allocate increasing budgets for translation of critical clinical and research material. Specifically, allocate $50,000 in FY25, $75,000 in FY26 and $100,000 in FY27 in our commitment to addressing language barriers in clinical care and research.

Action 4: By FY27, significantly increase our presence in the south-end community (South King County and beyond) by expanding our prevention and screening services to help reduce access barriers. 

Action 1: Advocate for adequate resources to support patients with pending Medicaid status to receive diagnostic treatment and work-up. 

Action 2: Advocate for ongoing resources to maintain and grow funds that maximize total aid available to patients for barriers to standard of care.

Action 3: Identify and engage in regional partnerships with healthcare providers, community organizations, and government entities to develop a referral system for underserved patients with new cancer diagnoses.

Action 1: Develop trend reports specific to patient-reported incidents, outlining the types and frequency of bias incidents. Share these reports with stakeholders and leadership. Communicate the steps being taken to address and prevent such incidents in the future.

Action 2: Assess the impact of bias reporting on patients, both individually and collectively.

Action 3: Establish continuous process improvements specifically focused on patient care and addressing bias. Regularly assess the effectiveness of strategies in addressing patient-reported incidents and adjust approach as needed.