New University of Washington Medical Center Bias Reporting Tool

Kathleen Kieran, MD, FAAP
WCAAP Equitable Care Work Group

In 2020, WCAAP established the Equitable Care Work Group.  This Work Group developed the Equitable Care Toolkit, with the aim of identifying actionable ways for providers, institutions, and practices to take steps to address bias and inequity in health care delivery.  In many ways, these steps require new and innovative ways of thinking and acting, and with any behavior change, evaluating the impact and assessing the next steps is critical to success.  The University of Washington Medical Center Bias Reporting Tool is a way for anyone at UW Medicine to report experienced and observed instances of bias.  UW Medicine has made the (de-identified) findings publicly available here, including data on how these incidents inform policy change and educational opportunities.  Public transparency and accountability are key to making meaningful change.  We commend UW Medicine for making these data public and hope other groups will follow.