Watch: A conversation on health care access in underserved areas

On Wednesday, May 31, Axios senior health care editor Adriel Bettelheim hosted conversations examining the challenges and solutions to expanding equitable access to health care. Guests included American Heart Association chief executive officer Nancy Brown and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) executive director Dr. Nakela L. Cook. The View from the Top sponsored segment featured Walmart senior vice president of pharmacy Kevin Host.

Nancy Brown discussed how social determinants of health impact rates of disease and health disparities.

• On rising rates of heart disease and social determinants of health: “We believe very strongly that where a person lives, a person’s access to health care, a person’s access to safe places to play and to exercise, a person’s access to having the same economic advantage as others in other neighborhoods and parts of the community plays a big difference in a person’s overall health and well-being. And of course, with heart disease rates on the rise, we know that these social determinants of health are partially responsible for that.”
• On the pandemic’s exposure of health inequities: “I think the pandemic exposed what we have known all along at the American Heart Association is that there are structural inequities that have long existed in the health care system that need to be addressed so that every person everywhere has equal access to experience strong health care in this country.”

Dr. Nakela L. Cook explained how socioeconomic factors impact public health priorities and how the facets of patient-centered care work in practice.

• On geographic health disparities: “I grew up in the stroke belt and the southeast of the United States. And health disparities and social determinants of health that really affect health outcomes were really prevalent and prominent in this area where stroke and heart disease and cardiovascular deaths had disproportionate burden in this geography of the country, as well as for certain racial and ethnic populations.”
• On patient-centered research and care: “PCORI is really a leader in advancing research that’s centered on and really driven by the input of patients and other health care decision makers who use the study results that are produced through our funding.”

In the View from the Top segment, Kevin Host emphasized how overall health is affected by a variety of external factors besides visits with health care providers.

• “We do understand that health is more than just simply going to see a doctor. It’s a combination of factors, including personal behaviors, clinical care, genetics, even social determinants of health. So we also know that care requires coordination across all these aspects.”

Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this event.