N. Gina Malak’s Post

The importance of #DEIA in healthcare (and all sectors) cannot be overstated 📌 While life is never a one size fits all approach, we have to be VERY CAREFUL where and how that is applied. DEIA in every sector is meant to include to promote innovation and make accessible (healthcare) for all, not #innovate and then create measures that excludes. There has to be intentionality, especially with #healthcare. Some “one sizes” actually fit most, while some don’t, and that’s totally okay. We have to continually identify those differences with every individual and not use assumptions that hinders access and ultimately excludes the most vulnerable individuals. This work is a data work that requires constant testing and refining to ensure people are being served as they should. This is why one person or group cannot do it alone; EVERYONE is needed to make this development possible for all. That said, the news below is great and we hope to see more broken barriers and advancements in all sectors. ✨ Cheers and have a beautiful remaining part of the week!😊

A biased test kept thousands of Black people from getting a kidney transplant. It’s finally changing. Between January and March of 2023, over 14,000 Black kidney patients on the transplant list had their wait times shortened by an average of two years. It's part of an unprecedented move to mitigate racial inequality after it was uncovered that a racially-biased test overestimated the functionality of Black people’s kidneys, resulting in an overall delay in treatment and transplantation. The automated formula once used to evaluate eligibility for kidney transplants calculated different results for Black and non-Black patients, which systematically delayed diagnoses and transplants. The test serves as a stark reminder of the many ongoing racial biases present in modern-day kidney care that lead to Black patients being less likely to receive critical intervention and treatment. To learn more about the disparities in kidney care faced by Black patients and the test that resulted in care delays, read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e3mi5FA9 #BetterBeginsNow #kidneydisease #kidneytransplant

Jazmin Evans had been waiting for a new kidney for four years when her hospital revealed shocking news: She should have been put on the transplant list in 2015 instead of 2019 — and a racially biased organ test was to blame. As upsetting as that notification was, it also was part of an unprecedented move to mitigate racial inequity. Evans is among more than 14,000 Black kidney transplant candidates so far given credit for lost waiting time, moving them up the priority list for their transplant. At issue is a once widely used test that overestimated how well Black people’s kidneys were functioning, making them look healthier than they really were — all because of an automated formula that calculated results for Black and non-Black patients differently. That race-based equation could delay diagnosis of organ failure and evaluation for a transplant, exacerbating other disparities that already make Black patients more at risk of needing a new kidney but less likely to get one. Between January 2023 and mid-March, more than 14,300 Black kidney transplant candidates have had their wait times modified, by an average of two years, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the transplant system. So far more than 2,800 of them, including Evans, have received a transplant. But it’s just one example of a larger problem permeating health care. Numerous formulas or “algorithms” used in medical decisions — treatment guidelines, diagnostic tests, risk calculators — adjust the answers according to race or ethnicity in a way that puts people of color at a disadvantage. #RacialInequity Read more: https://lnkd.in/e8HNwe3j

Set to begin January 1, 2025, this six-year mandatory program focuses on increasing the availability and efficiency of kidney transplants through performance-based payment incentives. Learn more details about the proposed program and how it will impact transplant hospitals. Thanks for your insight, Georgia Green, MS, CHFP, and Steven Hartley. https://lnkd.in/g3QT5ACk

More exciting news from Diality! Diality is proud to announce we have joined Kidney Care Partners, the nation's leading kidney care multi-stakeholder coalition. Click below to read the full announcement. #Diality #Patientsfirst #Dialysis #Hemodialysis

A flawed diagnostic test, widely used in the past, has been shown to inaccurately assess the kidney function of Black individuals, leading to delays in diagnosing organ failure and errors in assessing their eligibility for transplantation. With subsequent changes in practice, over 14,300 Black kidney transplant candidates have seen adjustments to their wait times, averaging a reduction of two years as reported by the United Network for Organ Sharing. During #NationalMinorityHealthMonth we're shining a spotlight on the significant impact of health disparities on the outcomes for patients with PKD. In this AP article, learn more about how outdated practices have disproportionately affected Black kidney transplant candidates and what measures are being taken to address these disparities. https://lnkd.in/e3mi5FA9

Proposed mandatory model - Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model (IOTA) to increase #access#equity decrease#healthdisparities Transplant hospitals would receive upside risk payments, neutral adjustment, or owe downside risk payments to CMS based on a final performance based on 3 proposed domains: Achievement, Efficiency, Quality https://lnkd.in/eqqVwJeW

Inequities in health: This ABC news article goes hand in hand with what we’ve been sharing re health inequities specific to Black patients with us ringing the bell that the true pandemic is racism This goes all the way back to That dog gone Dr J Marion Sims & his physician buddies who caused people to believe that Black people don’t feel pain, their skin is thicker, and a whole host of other inaccurate information that correlates to Black maternal mortality based upon the grotesque surgeries and experiments done without anesthesia on Black woman slaves ABC News & author Lauren Neegard state “…. The eGFR, or estimated glomerular filtration rate, evaluates kidney health based on how quickly a waste compound called creatinine gets filtered from blood. In 1999, an equation used to calculate eGFR was modified to adjust Black people's results compared to everyone else's, based on some studies with small numbers of Black patients and a long-ago false theory about differences in creatinine levels. Until recently that meant many lab reports would list two results — one calculated for non-Black patients and another for Black patients that could overestimate kidney function by as much as 16%…” The inequality and inequities are embedded in health decisions of physicians daily because a) it’s embedded in medical school teachings of all physicians (including Black physicians) b) it’s embedded in the electronic records and of medical decision technology Sadly, we can never have these discussions because *people *presume that we will go down a road to reparations, race discrimination, etc. instead of correcting health inequities that we speak about This is 2024 not an archeological or arbitrary number 2024 and this is where we are

DEI MATTERS. There's a need for diversity and inclusion during the research/development testing process. Without proper sampling in the testing design. The unintended consequences produces faulty testing products. The original test known as the MMPI that tested different types of psychological disorders had a built-in racial bias. In the original sample of test takers didn't accomplish having more diverse and inclusive test takers in the original test construction. The recent research that showed darker skinned patients had mistaken pulse-oxygen reactions. That darker skin patients were not provided oxygen sooner. The revelation that Black kidney patients were misdiagnosed in testing to be able to obtain a kidney transplant. The fact that poor sampling of diversity in test sampling creates a lack of equity in the health care. The ongoing process of State Legislative bodies taking action against all types of DEI might extend to research in health care. #DEI #Healthcare #researchdevelopment Open SmartNews and read "A biased test kept thousands of Black people from getting a kidney transplant. It’s finally changing" here: https://lnkd.in/g6XZ6VVb To read it on the web, tap here: https://lnkd.in/g865db44