First few Article Sentences
Health system reform is well underway, but it is increasingly clear that even the best executed, most comprehensive effort won’t solve every challenge Oregon faces in caring for its citizens unless it looks at their needs in a new way.
Though 2014 will see the entrance of an estimated 600,000 newly covered Oregonians into the health care system, there will still be hundreds of thousands who will not have access to health insurance, and will need care. As physicians, physician assistants and other members of the health care team absorb the newly insured patients into their practice, exploring the non-clinical factors that impact health, or social determinants of health, is key to understanding the needs of a changing patient population. Similarly, understanding the existing gaps among health outcomes based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender and sexual orientation – otherwise called health disparities – is a crucial starting point. The OMA, through its education and advocacy, is poised to help its members on this journey.