Are the current evaluation tools for advanced therapies biased?

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Health Equity
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Racial disparities in chronic disease outcomes, including heart failure (HF), persist despite awareness.
• Recent events underscore the impact of systemic racism on health outcomes.
• The influence of racial bias on access to advanced HF therapies remains largely unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether racial bias influences patient access to advanced heart failure therapies.
• To identify specific points in the evaluation process vulnerable to bias.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on racial bias in healthcare settings.
• Analysis of medical and psychosocial factors in advanced HF therapy evaluations.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests racial bias impacts HF providers' consideration of patients for advanced therapies.
• Specific elements within the patient evaluation process are susceptible to bias.

Conclusions:

• Reducing disparities in advanced therapy access necessitates multi-level interventions.
• Key strategies include improving healthcare access, standardizing clinical operations, researching patient success factors, and increasing provider diversity.
• Significant investment and disruptive change are needed, comparable to efforts against COVID-19.