Confronting Systemic Racial Inequities in Health Care Data Must Start With Employers

Executive Leadership Advisor of Spencer Stuart Robin Glasgow, MBA, joined The American Journal of Managed Care® to discuss the critical role of data in health care, emphasizing the need to address inherent biases in data collection and algorithms.

As the leader of the company’s payer practice, Glasco leverages her 30 years of experience to guide organizations in addressing the complexities of health equity and innovation. "I got into health care on accident; I stay on purpose," she said, sharing her experience as a patient who has experienced biased care.

"The first lesson in innovation is being human-centered," she noted, "and that means solving for those who are not included." Glasco believes that focusing on the most underserved populations—those at the "extremes" of the system—can yield solutions that benefit everyone.

Her presentation at the Coalition for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) Connect conference, Bridging the Gap: Ensuring Data Supports Health Equity in Complex Systems, emphasized the centrality of data in solving health care's pressing challenges. However, she cautioned that bias—both inherent and systemic—exists in data and its collection, complicating efforts to achieve equity.

“As we talk about [artificial intelligence] AI and just getting smarter, real-time information, there still is so much inherent bias in our data collection, the algorithms that we use, because those are created by humans that have bias,” Glasco explained. “And so, you know, it is important that we acknowledge that, and we work to strip that bias out.”

Acknowledging and addressing the issue of bias is most effective when it stems from leadership, she said. "Everything to me starts with leadership.” For health equity to move from the side of the desk to the center, leaders must prioritize it as a key aspect of health care transformation.

To effectively mitigate bias in data, organizations can adopt a 3-pronged approach. First, it’s essential to acknowledge that bias exists within systems and data, recognizing its pervasive influence. Next, Glasco explained that leadership needs to have the courage to act; organizations should commit to addressing bias directly, even when the solutions are complex or uncomfortable. Finally, prioritization is key, and health equity should be integrated into the company's core mission.

“One of the things that I've noticed, having been in this industry my entire career, is that once we acknowledge that there's an issue, and once we are committed to doing something about it… we solve it,” she said. “We have solved big problems within health care.”