Eight radiology organizations have formed a Radiology Health Equity Coalition to address what they call “jarring diagnosis and imaging utilization statistics” such as the fact that Black women are 42 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women.
The coalition, convened by the American College of Radiology, includes the American Board of Radiology, Radiology Section Council of the American Medical Association, Association of University Radiologists, Section on Radiology and Radiation Oncology for the National Medical Association, Radiological Society of North America, Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments, and Society of Interventional Radiology, with specialty and state radiology organizations already joining the initiative. So far, the coalition has received 633 pledges of support, according to its website.
The network of radiology societies will collect, assess, and disseminate resources and best practices; advocate for and connect with patients and community members; and collaborate on programs and services to improve access to and utilization of preventive and diagnostic imaging.
This coalition pointed to other troubling statistics, such as:
• Excess/potentially preventable deaths from cancer, lower respiratory disease and other illnesses in rural areas are often nearly double that of urban areas.
• Life expectancy is three years shorter, and heart disease, cancer and stroke death rates are significantly higher in rural areas (23 percent of the U.S. population ) vs. metropolitan areas.
• 22 percent of those in rural areas live within 30 minutes of a lung cancer screening center vs. 83 percent in urban areas.
• Black men are 52 percent more likely to die from colorectal cancer (CRC) than white men. The 19 percent CRC disparity may be due to fewer screenings.
• Black Americans with diabetes are three times more likely to have a limb amputated than others.
• U.S. Latinos are more likely to die from CRC than those in many Central and South American nations. The CRC death rate for U.S. Latinos has dropped more slowly than for whites.
• Asian Americans are twice as likely to die from stomach cancers, eight times more likely to die from hepatitis and have a tuberculosis rate more than 30 times higher than white Americans.
• 39 percent of U.S. women without health insurance had a mammogram in the past two years vs. 75 percent of those with health insurance.
Because medical imaging touches most patients at some point, radiologists are uniquely positioned to help eliminate disparities in healthcare, the coalition noted. Radiologists’ consultative role across the care process, and particularly in medical education, creates an opportunity to drive systemic change to achieve consistent, high-quality and equitable care for all.
“The members of the Radiology Health Equity Coalition are committed to addressing health disparities and improving health outcomes for the underserved,” said Jacqueline A. Bello, M.D., chair of the Radiology Health Equity Coalition and vice chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, in a statement. “Our collaborative framework empowers radiologists to work across healthcare to serve patients. I strongly urge other medical societies to join this effort.”
