Collection of data on race/ethnicity and language proficiency of providers

To determine the extent to which health plans were collecting and using data on the race, ethnicity, and language proficiency of network physicians and other network providers.

Survey of health plans conducted in 2010, with results compared with data from similar surveys conducted in 2006 and 2008.

Surveys were sent by e-mail to representatives of 250 health plans identified through the Atlantic Information Service's Directory of Health Plans: 2010. Basic descriptive statistics were used to characterize response patterns to individual items in the 2010 survey and to compare responses to matching items in the 2006 and 2008 surveys.

Approximately half of responding plans reported collecting data on race/ethnicity of providers. This proportion was not significantly different from that of previous years' surveys, and several plans that had been collecting data on providers' race/ethnicity in 2006 had discontinued the practice by 2010. Nearly all plans reported collecting data about languages spoken for 1 or more types of employees or providers. Plans were more likely in 2010 than in 2006 to verify language proficiency of staff and share this information with plan members.

Even though health plans and other healthcare organizations were more likely in 2010 than in the past to collect data on member/patient race, ethnicity, and language preferences, collection and use of data on providers' race/ethnicity have not expanded in scope since 2006. Collection and use of data on providers' proficiency in languages other than English were more common.