A presentation intended for use in provider organizations to train clinicians, managers, and front desk or registration staff to:

• Understand the role of R/E/L data and quality improvement in identifying and reducing disparities in health care
• Outline key decision points that will need to be considered at the organizational level
• Review the "nuts and bolts" of how to train staff to collect standardized R/E/L information

Across the U.S., racial and ethnic minorities often receive lower-quality health care than white patients, regardless of insurance status, income or disease severity. To better ensure that all patients receive the same high-quality, equitable care, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has identified the following framework:

1. Collection of standardized patient race, ethnicity and language (R/E/L) data;
2. Analysis of performance measures stratified by R/E/L; and
3. Identification and evaluation of quality improvement interventions targeted to specific patient populations.

Furthermore, the collection of R/E/L information to identify disparities-and being able to tie this information to quality improvement efforts-is becoming an explicit component of payment, through Meaningful Use, and accreditation for hospitals and other providers, through the Joint Commission's revised accreditation standards.