Health Equity Archives - AdvaMed https://www.advamed.org/topics/health-equity/ Advanced Medical Technology Association Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:07:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://www.advamed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cropped-AdvaMed_A_color-32x32.png Health Equity Archives - AdvaMed https://www.advamed.org/topics/health-equity/ 32 32 Building the Business Case for Health Equity https://www.advamed.org/member-center/resource-library/building-the-business-case-for-health-equity/ Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:05:46 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=resource&p=12589 Relive highlights from AdvaMed's latest Health Equity webinar, Building the Business Case for Health Equity. Discover why it's critical for medtech organizations to prioritize equity in their business strategies.

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Health Equity

We hope you found our recent webinar Building the Business Case for Health Equity informative and insightful! This dynamic discussion explored why it’s critical for medtech organizations to prioritize Health Equity in their organization’s business strategies for long-term success. 

For those who couldn’t attend live or wish to revisit the key highlights, you can access the webinar recording below. Visit our Health Equity webpage for more resources on ways to alleviate the adverse impacts of health disparities in health care.

Webinar Recording

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First Opinion readers on cancer screening, mpox vaccines, and more https://www.advamed.org/2024/09/12/first-opinion-readers-on-cancer-screening-mpox-vaccines-and-more/ Thu, 12 Sep 2024 18:15:32 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?p=11750 The op-ed unfairly and dangerously diminishes the value of cancer screening in reducing health disparities. As the writers acknowledge, numerous, complex factors contribute to poorer outcomes for Black patients than for white patients.

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Health Equity

First Opinion is STAT’s platform for interesting, illuminating, and provocative articles about the life sciences writ large, written by biotech insiders, health care workers, researchers, and others.

To encourage robust, good-faith discussion about issues raised in First Opinion essays, STAT publishes selected Letters to the Editor received in response to them. You can submit a Letter to the Editor here, or find the submission form at the end of any First Opinion essay.

The Story

“Doing more cancer screening won’t reduce Black-white health disparities,” by Adewole Adamson, Vishal Patel, and G. Gilbert Welch

The Response

The op-ed unfairly and dangerously diminishes the value of cancer screening in reducing health disparities. As the writers acknowledge, numerous, complex factors contribute to poorer outcomes for Black patients than for white patients. Long-standing problems — like structural racism, poverty, lack of health insurance, and reduced care access — lead to poorer health and outcomes. Medtech innovators have forcefully advocated for Medicare, and other, policies to facilitate patient access to technologies, both established and emerging — including cancer screening — and are developing devices that are faster, more accurate, and more accessible than before. Cervical cancer screening kits for home use are in development. AI-enabled medtech devices are achieving more accurate diagnoses and helping clinicians find appropriate care pathways.

These devices have tremendous potential to reduce the number of tests needed for accurate diagnoses and to direct patients to the best care. Early detection can directly impact patient outcomes, treatment options, and financial burden. A patient whose cancer is detected early may have a better prognosis and may require less aggressive and/or less lengthy care. Longer care can be especially financially debilitating for under-resourced patients. Equal or higher rates of screening for Black patients relative to white patients is a positive development. It reflects years of dedicated advocacy toward getting patients what they need.

Of course, the work is far from over. For example, women with dense breast tissue need screening beyond mammograms, and access to supplemental screening is inadequate. Addressing health disparities in cancer diagnoses and care requires a comprehensive approach, and screening plays a vital role.

So rather than cast screening as the enemy, we should promote it alongside the necessary steps preceding and following it. Maybe screening gets an under-resourced patient in the door. If there’s a cancer diagnosis, the next step should be ensuring access to appropriate treatment, not devaluing the screening that led to the diagnosis.

The authors would have patients question the value of screening. Will that accomplish better health? Instead of dismissing cancer screening, which has been shown to work, those with a voice in health care debates should continue promoting equal access to all the resources that improve patient health.

— DeChane Dorsey and Deidre Washington, AdvaMed

  

Hear Patient Stories

The Story of Medtech empowers patients to share their experiences with medical technology in an effort to educate, inspire, and create community.

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Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Clinical Research Participants – Member Best Practices https://www.advamed.org/member-center/resource-library/recruiting-diverse-clinical-research-participants/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 11:11:14 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=resource&p=11478 AdvaMed is engaged in efforts to ensure our industry is doing its part to mitigate the adverse impacts of health disparities among people and communities of color.

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Health Equity

We hope you found our recent webinar on ways to develop diverse clinical trials both informative and insightful! This timely discussion explored a crucial topic for ensuring inclusivity and representation are prioritized in future medical advancements.

For those who couldn’t attend live or wish to revisit the key highlights, you can access the webinar recording below. Visit our Health Equity webpage for more resources on ways to alleviate the adverse impacts of health disparities in health care.

Webinar Recording

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Racial and Gender Equity in Health Care: a Wake-up Call and an Opportunity https://www.advamed.org/2024/07/08/racial-and-gender-equity-in-health-care-a-wake-up-call-and-an-opportunity/ Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:02:33 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?p=11333 Two important developments just happened on the health equity and diversity front. 

One, the American Heart Association released a ground-breaking study finding women’s cardiovascular health is perhaps more poorly understood than even those of us working in health equity realized. The study also pointed out how women face unique-to-gender threats to their cardiovascular health at key life stages, such as during pregnancy and menopause. For example, the study cites findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cardiac and coronary conditions are a leading cause of preventable maternal deaths (13 percent).

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Health Equity

Two important developments just happened on the health equity and diversity front. 

One, the American Heart Association released a ground-breaking study finding women’s cardiovascular health is perhaps more poorly understood than even those of us working in health equity realized. The study also pointed out how women face unique-to-gender threats to their cardiovascular health at key life stages, such as during pregnancy and menopause. For example, the study cites findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that cardiac and coronary conditions are a leading cause of preventable maternal deaths (13 percent).  

Two, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued draft guidance, “Diversity Action Plans to Improve Enrollment of Participants from Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Studies,” to increase clinical study enrollment of participants of historically underrepresented populations to help improve the data the FDA receives about the patients who may potentially use a medical product under agency consideration. 

The study and the draft guidance are meaningful. The grim findings on women’s cardiovascular health should be a call to action to enlist more women – of different ethnicities, ages, economic circumstances, and life stages – in clinical trials of medical devices that could benefit them. Medtech companies are making strides to do exactly that, but barriers remain. Identifying those barriers and breaking them down one by one are necessary to solve the dual problems of too little diversity in clinical trials and the serious health risks to women of undertreated and unresolved cardiovascular needs. 

Medtech solutions exist to help clinicians treat the many women with cardiovascular conditions. Additional medtech solutions that are customized for women, and safe and effective in women, will emerge under positive conditions, including clinical trials enrolling more women, and more types of women. These achievements are within our grasp, thanks to the work of the American Heart Association, the FDA, medtech companies, and many other allies committed to better health for underrepresented and underserved people. 

Want to get involved?  

Comments on the FDA diversity plans in clinical trials draft guidance are due September 26, 2024. AdvaMed is planning to comment. We encourage comments from all perspectives. 

Listen to American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown’s conversation with Scott Whitaker on the Medtech POV podcast.  

Deidre Washington, PhD, is AdvaMed’s director of health equity. 

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NEW EPISODE: Medtech POV with Scott Whitaker | American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown on the Evolution of Cardiovascular Care, Important Role of Medical Technology https://www.advamed.org/industry-updates/news/new-episode-medtech-pov-with-scott-whitaker-american-heart-association-ceo-nancy-brown-on-the-evolution-of-cardiovascular-care-important-role-of-medical-technology/ Mon, 17 Jun 2024 18:50:23 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=news&p=11265 In the latest episode of Medtech POV, Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association, joins host Scott Whitaker to talk about her journey to leading one of the most influential health care organizations in the world, the 100-year history of the Association, and how medtech innovation has improved health outcomes for millions living with cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

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Health Equity

WASHINGTON – In the latest episode of Medtech POV, Nancy Brown, Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association, joins host Scott Whitaker to talk about her journey to leading one of the most influential health care organizations in the world, the 100-year history of the Association, and how medtech innovation has improved health outcomes for millions living with cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

In talking about the 100th anniversary of the American Heart Association, Brown talked about the growing impact of the organization’s work:

“We’re excited to be celebrating our centennial on June 10, 2024. One hundred years ago, the wise founders of the American Heart Association recognized there was a better way forward for people who were suffering from heart disease. I look back over our first century with an incredible sense of progress made through technology, new drug therapies, better awareness of the public about their own health and well-being. As a result, over the past 100 years deaths from cardiovascular disease have been cut in half.”

“We have a presence in over a hundred countries through the Association’s quality improvement initiatives, our scientific journals, Go Red for Women, and other programs. We lead international CPR and first aid training in many countries and we’re a part of an organization called ILCOR, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, where lifesaving guidelines are written and updated based on the latest science on CPR.”

Brown went on to talk about the impact of medtech innovation to reduce heart disease deaths:

“The ability to diagnose [heart disease] so much earlier and then intervene has made an incredible impact. Over my many years at the American Heart Association, I’ve heard story after story from people I’ve met, and from passionate volunteers of the AHA, who say ‘Thank goodness my clinician was able to recognize and understand that I was on this path to having a fatal heart attack or stroke.’

“When you look at the interaction between clinicians and patients and the types of tools that clinicians have for early diagnosis that were not available 10, 20, or 30 years ago, they continue to improve through these new AI-enabled technologies; home monitoring; telehealth; and more. All of these things empower people to become more involved in managing their care.”

Recorded during Women’s Health Month, Brown talked about the history of women in cardiovascular trials:

“It wasn’t until the 1990s that women were even included in clinical trials. Women make up more than one half of the U. S. population, but still today, only about 30 percent of clinical trial participants are women. We must change this if we’re going to truly alter the course of women’s health.”

“Younger women who experience the warning signs of a heart attack or stroke are often dismissed because many people still falsely believe that they aren’t going to suffer a heart attack or a stroke. Even though there is very clear evidence that they do.” 

“The types of heart attacks that women experience are just as fatal, this can be especially true during pregnancy, after childbirth, and during menopause. Those are all times during a woman’s lifecycle when they may be at elevated risk for a cardiac event. Because of this, we need more tools to help with early diagnosis of women who are at high risk for having an event.”

She also gave the following advice to women on taking control of their health:

“Put yourself first on your to do list. I think women often overlook their own health for the benefit of their children, their spouse or a partner, or a significant other, and for the many other responsibilities in life. But it’s important to remember, like the pilot on an airplane says, we must ‘Put our own mask on first, in order to then help other people’.”

“[K]now your health numbers, every woman should know their blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index, and ensure they eat well, get enough exercise, and don’t smoke.”

To listen to the full conversation with Nancy Brown, download the Medtech POV podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever podcast streaming is available. Visit AdvaMed’s website for more information on the podcast and past guests.

The Medtech POV podcast is hosted by Scott Whitaker, President and CEO of AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology association. It premiered in April 2021 and features interviews with a range of health care experts, medtech leaders, and policy experts. In each episode, guests and host Scott Whitaker cover the intersection of medtech and policy from every perspective, including current issues in business, policy, and current events.

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Prioritizing Heart Health in Women Across the Health System https://www.advamed.org/2024/05/23/prioritizing-heart-health-in-women-across-the-health-system/ Thu, 23 May 2024 17:03:12 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?p=11151 Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but historically—and even today—women are underrepresented in heart disease research, can be overlooked in the clinical care setting when it comes to cardiovascular care, and too many women in the United States (44%) do not recognize heart disease as their number one killer.

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Health Equity

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but historically—and even today—women are underrepresented in heart disease research, can be overlooked in the clinical care setting when it comes to cardiovascular care, and too many women in the United States (44%) do not recognize heart disease as their number one killer.

Women have historically been left out of cardiovascular research, and medical research generally, due to a belief that studying females would be difficult due to female hormones, or that it may harm women and their future fertility. We now know these beliefs to be false, but the assumptions have left their mark on research:

  • Women represent just one-third of the study population in most cardiovascular trials,
  • Women are underrepresented in ischemic heart disease clinical trials, and
  • Women make up just 24% of heart failure trials.

As these gaps in research make their way through the health care system, they have implications for patient outcomes, likely affecting the way both providers and patients think about heart disease. This plays out in the health care setting in the following ways:

  • Women experiencing chest pain wait 11 minutes longer to get care in the emergency department than men with the same symptoms,
  • Women of color are more likely to have their complaints trivialized by health care professionals compared to other groups, including men and white women, and
  • Women are less likely to receive guideline-directed therapies and interventions for heart disease compared to men.

Another challenge to improving upon these outcomes is that only 13% of cardiologists are women, and women remain underrepresented in cardiovascular research leadership and publications.

It will take a comprehensive and multidimensional approach – from additional women-focused health care provider education, to improved clinical trial diversity, to culturally sensitive and tailored public education resources, to greater policy support – to improve women’s heart health outcomes.

Earlier this year, the Society for Women’s Health Research released a heart health policy agenda that outlines several ways that we tackle the gender disparity in heart health. Among the recommendations made are to:

  • Raise public awareness of heart disease by conducting a federally led, public awareness campaign on heart health.
  • Increase diversity across all levels of science by reintroducing and passing the Diversifying Investigations Via Equitable Research Studies for Everyone (DIVERSE) Trials Act.
  • Address gender bias through training in health professions education by integrating sex and gender differences training throughout medical curricula.
  • Feature women prominently in cardiovascular clinical guidelines (and in some cases as the focus)– not as an afterthought or special patient group.
  • Make patients the center of the care plan by encouraging open communication between providers and individuals to ensure personal preferences, values, and lifestyle factors are considered.
  • Modify utilization management and other insurance policies to support patients’ needs, including through passing the Safe Step Act of 2023 and building in protections for patients from non-medical switching, allowing them to have stability in their treatment plans and options.
  • Develop comprehensive patient-centered approaches to address social determinants and root causes of heart disease, such as protecting access to food security and programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); creating interventions that are culturally sensitive and tailored to local demographics; and integrating overall wellness (physical activity, nutrition) into medical curricula, to eventually move us towards a more preventive health care system.

These recommendations represent just some of the changes that are needed to meaningfully improve women’s heart health outcomes across the lifespan. Read the recommendations in the policy agenda, “Improving Women’s Heart Health Outcomes Across the Lifespan.”

Heart disease is considered an “invisible illness”; it is not visible to others and may be difficult to diagnose. But by championing heart health—by raising awareness among women about their personal risk for heart disease and ensuring that diverse populations of women are sufficiently represented in cardiovascular clinical trials—we can reduce the disease burden of heart disease in the United States and save lives.

Improving heart health research, treatment, and education for women is a rising tide that will lift all of us. Join SWHR this Women’s Health Month and all year long as we work toward a society where cardiovascular health is prioritized and supported at individual, community, and systemic levels.

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Racial and Ethnic Diversity in FDA Regulated Clinical Trials https://www.advamed.org/member-center/resource-library/racial-and-ethnic-diversity-in-fda-regulated-clinical-trials/ Fri, 12 Apr 2024 12:57:27 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=resource&p=10732 Artificial intelligence has been in the spotlight recently, but it is not a new concept to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the medtech industry. AI advancements in the medtech industry are playing a major role in improving patients’ lives through innovative care, reduced healthcare costs, and improved patient outcomes.

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Health Equity

What does the FDA really say about diversity in clinical trials? What do you need to do now to make sure you remain compliant? Our white paper, answers these questions and more, giving you the insight you need to successfully run a compliant, diverse study.

Learn more.

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Women’s Health Equity Initiative https://www.advamed.org/womens-health-equity-initiative/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:39:16 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?page_id=10496 AdvaMed is dedicated to ensuring our industry focuses their efforts on treating and raising the awareness of women’s health conditions.

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Women’s Health Equity Initiative

AdvaMed is dedicated to ensuring our industry focuses their efforts on treating and raising the awareness of women’s health conditions.

Mission and Goals

To raise awareness regarding the medical technologies that our members make to treat women’s health conditions and to raise awareness and reduce inequities related to the need to diagnose, include in research, and improve health outcomes for women.

Our 3 goals focus on:
  1. Awareness – Develop the business case for women’s health equity. 
  2. Access – Improve care access by women
  3. Research Diversity – Improve environment for recruiting and retaining women in research.

Women’s health includes conditions that:

  1. Are unique/specific to women
  2. Predominantly affect women
  3. Affect women differently than men

Our Work

Completed

In November 2023, the White House announced the launch of a new Initiative on Women’s Health Research. The White House states that “Women make up half of the United States population, but for too long, a lack of timely research and data on women’s health has left health care providers without important tools to diagnose and treat millions of women with debilitating conditions, including cardiovascular disease…” As part of this new Initiative, the White House was soliciting comments from stakeholders. AdvaMed, with input from WHEI members, has submitted a list of recommendations we believe can move the agenda forward. You can review the AdvaMed recommendations here.

In Progress

AdvaMed is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the current landscape in the U.S. for innovative women’s health technologies. We are especially interested in identifying specific gaps in research funding, coverage, reimbursement, and coding. The results of this assessment, expected in Q1 2025, will help to inform our activities going forward.

Join in AdvaMed’s mission to improve research, access, and funding for innovations targeted towards women’s health. See why key industry leaders are prioritizing this critical work.

Want to Get Involved?

Join the Working Group:

The Women’s Health Equity Initiative (WHEI) Working Group is open to all members with an interest in women’s health issues. We meet monthly to discuss current projects.

Join the Subcommittee:

The Women’s Health Equity Initiative (WHEI) Subcommittee is open to CEOs and other C-suite level members with an interest in women’s health issues. We meet quarterly to provide high-level strategic guidance for the Working Group, and to provide updates to the Board-level Health Equity and Diversity Committee. The Subcommittee is chaired by Tracy MacNeal, CEO, Materna Medical.

Contact AdvaMedWomensHealth@advamed.org to join the Working Group or the Subcommittee.

Women in Cardiovascular Device Trials

AdvaMed has developed Take Her Health to Heart, a public awareness campaign to encourage recruitment, enrollment, and retention of women in cardiovascular device trials. You can read more about this program and access resources here.

Press Releases

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Phase III: Disparities in Access to Selected Advanced Medical Procedures in the Medicare Population https://www.advamed.org/member-center/resource-library/phase-iii-disparities-in-access-to-selected-advanced-medical-procedures-in-the-medicare-population/ Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:54:04 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=resource&p=10406 The final report of a three-part series investigates the prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities in the use of in the use of advanced interventions in the Medicare program.

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Health Equity

Health Equity White Paper 3

In this third of our series of reports on disparities in the use of advanced interventions in the Medicare program, we examined whether measurable disparities in access were detectable for racial minorities, women, and by dual-eligibility for Medicaid status. In addition, this report focused on how to interpret those differences after accounting for patient clinical and utilization history as well as provider and geographic factors.

Read the full report

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Phase II: Literature Review: Racial Disparities in Use of Selected Medical Technologies https://www.advamed.org/member-center/resource-library/phase-ii-literature-review-racial-disparities/ Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:32:29 +0000 https://www.advamed.org/?post_type=resource&p=10398 The second of a three-phase research series examines the difference in access to certain advanced interventions, including a range of surgical, medical and technological interventions.

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Health Equity

This report is the second of a three-phase series investigating the prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities in the use of selected medical technologies. In Phase I, we presented initial evidence of gaps in access for a broad range of cardiovascular, neurovascular, orthopedic, respiratory, and preventive interventions.

In this Phase II analysis, we set out to understand from the medical literature the factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in utilization for five procedures from the initial Phase I gap analysis—three cardiovascular procedures (cardiac ablation, angioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement) and two neurovascular procedures (mechanical thrombectomy and thrombolysis).

Read the full report

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