Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: I work as a scheduler and recently heard a colleague on the phone with a patient trying to fill out some basic information on the patient’s chart. I overheard her say to the patient “You’re white, right? Because some people have other things mixed in,” and cringed because this seems like a really bizarre and offensive way to collect information on race/ethnicity. Are there any resources I can use to establish a more sensitive standard script?

Utah Subscriber

Answer: The American Hospital Association (AHA) Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) has several toolkits available to help healthcare personnel collect information on demographics and communications. The Health Research and Educational Trust Disparities Toolkit, developed by Romana Hasnain-Wynia, PhD; Debbie Pierce; Ahmed Haque; Cynthia Hedges Greising; Vera Prince; and Jennifer Reiter, may be a good resource for this situation.

This toolkit has suggested explanations for rationale that staff can use when patients ask why such information is being collected or how it will be used. They also have practice scripts staff can study and incorporate into their own conversations with patients.

So, when asking about a patient’s ethnicity or race, the AHA IFDHE recommends this phrasing: “We want to make sure that all our patients get the best care possible. We would like you to tell us your racial/ethnic background so that we can review the treatment that all patients receive and make sure that everyone gets the highest quality of care.”

Find the toolkits, including several resources for staff training, at https://ifdhe.aha.org/aha-disparities-toolkit.