Background: Patients in rural areas have reduced colonoscopy access, which is critical for colorectal cancer prevention. General surgeons perform most colonoscopies in rural areas. The Surgical Collaborative of Wisconsin's Rural Task Force identified colonoscopy as a high priority initiative due to high volume and lack of quality measure access, both necessary for assessing and improving performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWithin Wisconsin, our residents experience some of the worst health disparities in the nation. Public reporting on disparities in the quality of care is important to achieving accountability for reducing disparities over time and has been associated with improvements in care. Disparities reporting using statewide electronic health records (EHR) data would allow efficient and regular reporting, but there are significant challenges with missing data and data harmonization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Public Health
December 2021
The University of Wisconsin Neighborhood Health Partnerships Program used electronic health record and influenza vaccination data to estimate COVID-19 relative mortality risk and potential barriers to vaccination in Wisconsin ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. Data visualization revealed four groupings to use in planning and prioritizing vaccine outreach and communication based on ZIP Code Tabulation Area characteristics. The program provided data, visualization, and guidance to health systems, health departments, nonprofits, and others to support planning targeted outreach approaches to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Our goal was to identify racial and ethnic disparities in health outcome and care measures in Wisconsin.
Methods: We used electronic health record data from 25 health systems submitting to the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality to identify disparities in measures, including vaccinations, screenings, risk factors for chronic disease, and chronic disease management.
Results: American Indian/Alaska Native and Black populations experienced substantial disparities across multiple measures.