A select task force was convened today in Washington DC with the goal of reducing disparities and promoting equity in people receiving amputation. “In the USA, we have a disparity within a disparity”, noted David G. Armstrong, Professor of Surgery and Director of the University of Arizona’s Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance, who serves as Chair of the task force “African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos and Native Americans all are at a higher risk for getting diabetes and– even within that population, they’re at an increased risk for getting an amputation.” The task force, which consisted of clinician researchers, representatives from state-sponsored Medicaid, insurance providers, patient advocacy groups and individual patients in the community was charged with developing funding mechanisms to help address practical rapid-response interventions in this area. “This is such a wonderful group”, noted Lawrence A. Lavery, DPM, MPH, Professor and Co-Chair for Research in Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern, “We have the passion and now the capacity to effect real change in almost real time. I’m excited about the future.” The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), who hosted the meeting, is an independent non-profit research organization authorized by Congress as part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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| PCORI Addressing Disparities in Amputation Task Force from back left: Ayodola Anise (PCORI), Romana Hasnain-Wynia (PCORI), Harry Glauber (Kaiser), Charlie Steele (Amputee Coalition of America), Lawrence A. Lavery (UT Southwestern), Chairman David G. Armstrong (University of Arizona), Michael Herndon (Oklahoma Medicaid), Joseph Lemaster (University of Kansas), Carl Stevens (UCLA), Mychal Wynert (PCORI) Front Row: Carolyn Jenkins (Medical University of South Carolina), Mariah Shield Chief (Pawnee/Tohono-O’Odham), Gayle Reiber (University of Washington). |
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