The 1st step in the Operationalization of Health Equity

Back in November, I attended the WOCIP conference which spent a lot of time discussing the operationalization of health equity.  Even though health equity is the word du jour, there still exists a lot of confusion around what it is, how it differs from DEI&B and who is responsible for health equity.  

For the people in the back, health equity is achieved when everyone has an ability to realize their full health potential.  It is an outcome that can only be achieved through systemic thinking and the utilization of partners. I would go so far to even suggest that accelerating health equity should be the in the vision and values of any organization providing a product or service that improves the healthcare of others.  This doesn’t mean that one entity needs to shoulder the full burden of the addressing health disparities, but it does suggest that business decisions should seek to close disparities and not exaggerate disparities.  

I remember when I was in business school, we learned that the reasons businesses exist is to increase shareholder value.   I never thought that would would evolve.   Yet in 2017  it did.   The Business Roundtable expanded the purpose of a company to be broader.  This means that organizations that provide care, enable care or create new care options should be creating those products and services in a way that consider the communities in which they operate, or by centering health equity.  Centering health equity cannot be done after the fact.  It means it has to be consider at he inception of a product or service and embedded in policies and behaviors.  It starts at the top and should be integrated in the vision and purpose of the organization.