American Board of Internal Medicine Uses AHRQ Report in Efforts to Reduce Health Disparities
Because of AHRQ's National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is assessing how physicians' knowledge about disparities might be addressed in board certification exams. The Board is also creating tools that collect race and ethnicity information in physician performance data. With such detailed patient data, ABIM has an unparalleled capacity to give physicians feedback about their performance.
According to Christine K. Cassel, MD, ABIM President and CEO, "I don't think we would have [begun work on disparities] if there weren't national data calling attention to the problem." She notes that ABIM has a high level of respect for AHRQ products, which has helped her group appreciate the significance of disparities reported by AHRQ.
She characterizes ABIM as "a very data-driven organization," partly because its board certification exam results must stand up to court challenges. Being data-driven, the Board found the NHDR especially compelling as an action-oriented report.
ABIM, a private nonprofit organization established in 1936, is responsible for board certification of internists and certain subspecialists.