The Consumer Partnership for eHealth (CPeH), a nationwide coalition of more than 50 consumer, patient and labor organizations, released a plan addressing disparities in Stage 3 of the EHR incentive program.

The partnership’s Disparities Action Plan stems from a one-year review of scientific literature and collaboration with experts on disparities and health IT, according to a related announcement. The plan details how improved data collection and use can help physicians and providers both identify and reduce disparities in health and healthcare.

Currently, the Meaningful Use program requires the collection of race, ethnicity and gender data, but the plan recommends more comprehensive data collection practices. Specifically, it recommends that data collection also include disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity, according to the announcement.

In addition, the plan recommends the following:

• EHRs have the ability to stratify patients’ specific conditions by race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and disability status
• Greater use of patient data collected and shared through mobile devices
• Patients have greater access to their electronic health information, which takes into account their cultural and literacy backgrounds
• Greater information sharing and automated connections between patients, healthcare providers and community-based organizations

The CPeH has shared its plan with the federal Health IT Policy Committee.

“It’s impossible to achieve better health outcomes and significantly reduce healthcare costs without tackling health disparities, which are a pervasive and costly problem,” said National Partnership for Women & Families President Debra L. Ness. “CPeH has created a bold, yet achievable, path forward for including criteria in Stage 3 that will begin to reduce disparities and, in doing so, help us achieve patient- and family-centered care, better outcomes, and lower costs for everyone.”

Health IT also should be used to improve information sharing and automate connections between, the plan says, enabling improved care coordination and health outcomes.

The Disparities Action Plan is accessible here.