BACKGROUND
Clinical decision tools, also known as clinical algorithms, help doctors determine the most effective way to care for their patients. Race has frequently been used as a variable in these tools even though it is not an objective biological trait. Using race as a variable can adversely influence the care a patient receives and it can also lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Such delays can worsen health outcomes and exacerbate health disparities among people of color. In 2020, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published “Hidden in Plain Sight – Reconsidering the Use of Race Corrections in Clinical Medicine” which included a list of 15 clinical algorithms that use race to estimate patient risk and highlighted the equity concerns of each algorithm.
MISSION
The Coalition to Eliminate Race-Based Medicine is a Philadelphia-based collaboration of regional healthcare organizations, convened by Independence Blue Cross (IBX) in 2023. Its shared purpose is to evaluate how race-based clinical algorithms are used across local hospital systems and to support the transition toward race-neutral, evidence-based approaches endorsed by national medical societies. The Coalition also collaborates to identify alternative best practices that do not reinforce biological interpretations of race and to evaluate the impact of these changes on clinical practice.
The Coalition’s mission is to foster community engagement, structural reform, and health equity in healthcare practices across the Greater Philadelphia region.
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
The 15 clinical decision tools addressed by the Coalition impact a wide range of patients’ healthcare experiences and outcomes. These tools span multiple clinical specialties, organized into Communities of Practice, including cardiology, emergency medicine, endocrinology, nephrology, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, pediatrics, pulmonology, and urology. By eliminating race as a variable in these tools, patients with varying diagnoses and needs can receive more equitable care.
The Coalition will release updates and expand this section on a rolling basis as the group continues to tackle all 15 tools. Learn more about the clinical decision tools, their impact, and the Coalition’s progress in making meaningful change across the region:
Coalition Members
