IVI Launches Health Equity Initiative

Ensuring meaningful change in value assessment to recognize diversity, address existing health disparities, and promote equitable access to care

ALEXANDRIA, Va. , April 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), a non-profit research organization committed to advancing the science, practice, and use of value assessment in healthcare, today announced the launch of its Health Equity Initiative, a 2-year initiative that aims to define gaps in value assessment methodology and develop best practices that support health equity.

Healthcare value assessment informs decisions that may affect the range of treatments and services that different patient populations have access to and their affordability in the marketplace. It matters how value is assessed, who is involved in the process, and how stakeholders utilize results in decision-making.

IVI is engaging with partners and stakeholders, including patients, employers, payers, manufacturers, researchers, health systems, and policymakers, to understand how equity is (or more often is not) considered within the current methods and practice of value assessment.

"Through this work, IVI has found that without a consistent and intentional focus on equity, we are blind to key differences among patients. Also, current assessments run the risk of reinforcing or even exacerbating inequities that already exist in the U.S. healthcare system," noted Rick Chapman, PhD, Chief Science Officer, IVI.

The IVI Health Equity Initiative's goals include:

1. Advancing our understanding of why health equity considerations in value assessment are important;
2. Identifying gaps in data collection and methods practices and implications related to health equity;
3. Developing "best practice" protocols that inform the practice of value assessment and health technology assessment (HTA) to mitigate these gaps; and
4. Achieving multi-stakeholder consensus about areas for further research, scientific practice change, and policy development.

IVI has established a diverse, multidisciplinary advisory body with expertise in health equity and disparities, clinical comparative effectiveness and patient preference research, HEOR methods, value assessment/HTA, and data collection and analytics. Representatives of impacted stakeholder communities - especially patients, patient advocacy and care providers - will co-lead the committee. Additionally, HTA user communities, including payers, purchasers, and employers, will participate in the initiative's future activities.

The IVI Health Equity Initiative Steering Committee:

• Morenike Ayo-Vaughan, MS, Program Officer, Advancing Health Equity, The Commonwealth Fund.
• Tammy Boyd, JD, MPH, Director of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs, The Black Women's Health Imperative
• Vakaramoko Diaby, PhD, MSc, Director, Health Economics and Value Evidence Partnership, Otsuka
• Judith Flores, MD, FAAP, CHCQM, Ambulatory Care Medical Director, New York City Health + Hospitals Woodhull
• Nelly Ganesan, MPH, Executive Director of Community Engagement and Health Equity, JPMorgan Chase – Morgan Health
• Pierluigi Mancini, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Multicultural Development Institute
• Jacquelyn McRae, PharmD, MS, Director of Policy, Research and Membership, PhRMA
• Eberechukwu Onukwugha, PhD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
• Lauren Powell, PhD, MPA, Vice President, US Health Equity & Community Wellness, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
• Jacob Quinton, MD, MSHS, FACP, Medical Officer, CMS, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI)
• Charlene Son Rigby, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, Rare-X
• Bonnie Swenor, PhD, MPH, Director, Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Ashley Valentine, MRes, Co-Founder and President, Sick Cells

Learn more about the IVI Health Equity Initiative >> HERE

About IVI
Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI) is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit research organization dedicated to advancing the science and improving the practice of value assessment through development of novel methods and the creation and application of enhanced value assessment models to support local decision-making needs in healthcare.

SOURCE Innovation and Value Initiative