Health Disparities & Resources: Connecting the Community to Care

1. Health Disparities & Resources: Connecting the Community to Care Robert Gilchick, MD, MPH, FACPM Director, Child and Adolescent Health Program and Policy Los Angeles County Department of Public Health October 20, 2011

2. Overview • ACPM • Health Disparities • Bridging the gap • Patient Assistance Programs • Pfizer Helpful Answers • AZ & Me • Questions and Answers

3. What are health disparities? • Significant differences between one population and another in "the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates” - Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 • Health disparities are differences in health outcomes between groups that reflect social inequalities - CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report, United States, 2011

4. U.S. Deaths Attributable to Social Factors In 2000: • 245,000 deaths in the United States were attributable to low levels of education • 176,000 to racial segregation • 162,000 to low social support • 133,000 to individual-level poverty • 119,000 to income inequality • 39,000 to area-level poverty. Galea et al. Am J Public Health. 2011.

5. Colorado Poverty Rates Data Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Colorado State Health Demographics (2008 Fact Sheet)

6. Inequalities in Health Insurance Status (CO) Data Source:US Census Current Population Survey (CPS) 2010 Data Source: Pew Hispanic Center: Demographic Profile of Hispanics in Colorado (2009)http://pewhispanic.org/states/?stateid=CO

7. Impact of Inequalities in Prescription Access • Lack of ability to fill prescriptions result in • Skipped medications • Disease progression • Worse health status • Greater healthcare costs • Importance of tertiary prevention

8. Patient Assistance Programs for Prescription Medicines • Offers free or low-cost medications • Low income uninsured or under-insured • Eligibility requirements differ with programs • One valuable tool for decreasing health disparities in low-income populations

9. Healthcare Disparities: Another Contributor to Health Disparities • Healthcare Disparities defined – Differences in the quality of healthcare that are not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness of interventions. Source: Smedley et al. 2003. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

10. Bridging the Gap: Strategies for Reducing Disparities • Research • Better understand the causes of health disparities and the most effective interventions. • Education • Develop opportunities for health education and empowerment of at-risk populations • Community Outreach • Work within communities to build awareness and increase access to resources and opportunities. • Resource Sharing • Maximize the benefits of programming, research and best practices. • Affiliations and Partnerships • Collaborate with those with shared goals, e.g. providers, educators and industry.

11. Pfizer Helpful Answers – Pfizer’s Family of Patient Assistance Programs Helping the Uninsured and Underinsured Get Access to the Medicines They Need Pfizer Helpful Answers® is a joint program of Pfizer Inc and the Pfizer Patient Assistance Foundation™

12. Patient Assistance Programs Update ACPM Webinar 1084003 2/11