Eliminating health disparities--an opportunity, and an obligation

According to a recent report from the National Institutes of Health, disparities are reflected in all categories of disease, from infectious disease to vascular and endocrine diseases to mental illness.2 Here is a sampling: * African-American men are twice as likely as white men to die from prostate and colorectal cancers. * American Indians and Alaska Natives suffer from an unusually high rate of suicide. * Latinos, American Indians, and certain Asian-Pacific Islander groups all have rates of diabetes that far exceed the rates in whites.2 The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently published Unequal Treatment: [...] the National Healthcare Disparities Report, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is the first national comprehensive effort to measure differences in access to and use of health care services by various populations.6 The report presents data on differences in use of services, access to health care, and impressions of quality for seven clinical conditions.