Collecting Data on Patient Race, Ethnicity and Language is Helping Hospitals Improve the Quality of Care
According to an issue brief from Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care, the collection of data on patient race, ethnicity and primary language is helping hospitals improve the quality of their care and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. The nation's first multi-hospital collaborative focused on reducing disparities, Expecting Success' 10 hospitals have implemented new systems for collecting and analyzing patient data in order to both improve the quality of care for all patients and track if there are racial and ethnic disparities in the care they provide. More>

First-Year Achievements Signal Big Improvements in Heart Care for Minority Patients
A report from Expecting Success highlights how 10 hospitals taking part in the program have improved performance on national measures of heart care and are ensuring that cardiac patients get all the care they should receive. Participating hospitals have not only significantly improved overall heart care, but have begun to look closely at how they provide care to patients of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Read more about the program's results during its first year, including the hospitals' first-of-its-kind, systematic approach to collecting race, ethnicity and primary language data so that care for minority heart patients may be adequately evaluated for quality. More>

2008 Heart Failure Patient Education Calendar and Teaching Guide
New tools to help hospitals educate heart failure patients about their condition and teach them self-management skills were developed collaboratively by Expecting Success hospitals. A calendar 'You Can Live with Heart Failure – Healthy Habits for Life' provides educational messages and colorful illustrations to help patients take control of their condition. With areas to record information daily, patients can use the calendar to record their weight and track their heart failure symptoms. Also available is 'Living with Heart Failure – A Patient Teaching Guide,' a pocket guide to help nurses educate heart failure patients. Access the calendar: English; Spanish. Access the teaching guide.

Posters Communicate the Importance of Collecting Patient Race, Ethnicity and Language Data
Patient registration personnel from the Expecting Success hospitals have created a poster explaining why a hospital is collecting information on a patient's race, ethnicity and primary language – an important task since most institutions do not systematically ask for this information, and patients may ask why it is being collected. "By uniformly tracking information on patients' race, ethnicity and language preferences, Expecting Success hospitals are ensuring that consistent care is provided to every patient," says Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, director of the program. Available in English and Spanish, the poster can be customized with an institution's logo and printed for display in registration areas. Access the poster: English version; Spanish version.