Vizient Leader Presents at the Inaugural CMS Health Equity Conference

From left to right: Karyl Kopaskie, James Williams, Kristen Azar, Whitney Haggerson, Alexandra Bryden and Shonalie Roberts.

IRVING, Texas, June 12, 2023 – Vizient, Inc. community health expert Karyl Kopaskie, PhD participated in a panel discussion June 8 titled, "Measure What Matters: Examining Variation in Health Equity Tracking and Measurement Practices Across Healthcare Systems in the U.S." The discussion took place as part of the inaugural CMS Health Equity Conference, a two-day program in Washington, D.C. featuring the research and work of health equity leaders and government partners to address social determinants of health.

Moderated by the CMS Office of Minority Health, the panel consisted of esteemed healthcare leaders from health systems across the country. Karyl Kopaskie, PhD, Principal at Vizient and Kristen Azar, RN MSN/MPH FAHA, Scientific Director at Sutter Health's Institute for Advancing Health Equity shared key insights from a recent cross-sectional survey, which was led by Sutter Health with support from Vizient, to benchmark healthcare system organizational structures and capabilities related to measuring health equity. Notably, Vizient and Sutter Health reported variation in how systems measure and track health equity, including the metrics and sociodemographic factors selected, and how long they have been tracking at the executive-level. Additionally, the broader panel highlighted their focus on advancing health equity despite the various barriers they face in their work such as coordination issues, lack of guidance on equity tracking and limited resources, among other challenges.

"On behalf of Vizient, we appreciate CMS for hosting this inaugural conference and bringing together healthcare providers and other industry partners for important conversations related to social determinants of health," said Kopaskie. "It is clear from the survey that further assessment related to health equity efforts across U.S. hospitals and health systems is needed and such insights could help to inform standards for measurement, best practice guidelines and policy."

Vizient looks forward to continuing to work alongside providers and CMS to help implement strategies that would support health equity tracking and measurement across hospitals.

About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the nation's largest health care performance improvement company, serves more than 50% of the nation's acute care providers, which includes 97% of the nation's academic medical centers, and more than 25% of the non-acute market. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $130 billion in annual purchasing volume. Vizient's solutions and services improve the delivery of high-value care by aligning cost, quality and market performance. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.