A Quality Framework to Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Emergency Department Care

June 25th, 2024

Racial and ethnic disparities are well recognized across health care and other settings; however, to date, they have not been systematically tied to quality and payment programs. This framework describes how new and existing quality measures assessing physician performance can be used to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in emergency care.

Michelle Lin

Michelle Lin, MD, MPH, MS is an emergency physician-scientist whose work strives to make emergency care more patient-centered, accessible, and equitable. Dr. Lin leads the development of quality measures used by emergency physicians in federally mandated payment programs through her leadership roles in the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and Emergency Medicine Data Institute. Her active NIH-funded research projects develop new quality measures based on what matters most to patients; improve post-ED discharge care and reduce admissions for high-risk patients; and enhance health professions workforce diversity and retention. Dr. Lin has received several national awards for her work, including the 2024 ACEP Policy Pioneer Award and the 2021 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Young Investigator Award. She completed her residency training at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, a fellowship in Health Policy Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and was previously a fellow at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).