There are differences in health care and health outcomes among various populations and sub-populations within the United States. Residents and fellows should be aware of these disparities and participate in efforts to eliminate them.5,6 While access to care—limited by financial constraints, workforce shortages, and geographic challenges—is an important contributing factor to health care disparities, it is not the only factor. There are many socio-cultural and economic barriers that affect patient care. The CLER site visits found that few CLEs have a well-defined or easily articulated formal strategy to routinely monitor and address health care disparities among the patients they serve. As a result, residents and fellows may not learn how to best manage these issues later in their careers.
Access the CLER Issue Brief #4 - Disparities