Collection of Patient RaceEthnicity

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Collection of Patient Race/Ethnicity

• Linda Powell
• THR

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Why are we changing the data collected for the
patients race and ethnicity?

• Effective April 1, 2002, the Health and Safety
  Code mandates that Texas Health Care Information
  Council collect the data on the racial and ethnic
  background of hospital patients.

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What are the new codes ?

• American Indian or Alaska Native
• A person having origins in any of the original
  peoples of North and South America (including
  Central America), and who maintains tribal
  affiliation or community attachment.

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New codes continued

• Asian
• A person having origins in any of the original
  peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the
  Indian subcontinent including, for example
  Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
  Pakistan, the Philippine Island, Thailand and
  Vietnam.

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New codes continued

• Black or African American
• A person having origins in any of the black
  racial groups of Africa. Terms such as Haitian
  orNegro can be used in addition to Black or
  African American.

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New codes continued

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• A person having origins in any of the original
  peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific
  Islands.

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New codes continued

• White
• A person having origins in any of the original
  peoples of Europe (therefore a majority of
  persons from Latin countries are of European
  descent and are considered White), Middle East,
  or North Africa.

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What is Ethnicity?

• Ethnicity describes people of or relating to a
  member of a racial, national, or cultural group.
• Ethnicity is best described as
• Hispanic or Latino Origin
• Non-Hispanic Origin
  

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What describes ones Race ?

• Asian/Pacific Islander
• Black
• Native American/Eskimo/Aleut
• White
• Other/Unknown

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Procedure for collecting race and ethnicity
during Patient Registration

• All THR registrars are to use the following
  script when requesting the patients race
  ethnicity. The question on Hispanic/Latino
  ethnicity should be asked before the race
  question. The script is as follows
• We understand this is a sensitive issue, but are
  required by law to ask the following questions in
  regards to race and ethnicity. Your cooperation
  is greatly appreciated.
• Of the following two choices, which best
  describes your ethnicity?
• 1. Hispanic or Latino origin or
• 2. Non-Hispanic origin

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Collecting race and ethnicity continued

• The registrar will verify the response by
  repeating the answer back to the patient. Then
  the registrar will need to make note of the
  selection the patient offered. Next the registrar
  will ask the final question
• Of the following five choices, please choose the
  one that best describes your race.
• 1. Asian/Pacific Islander
• 2. Black
• 3. Native American/Eskimo/Aleut
• 4. White
• 5. Other/Unknown

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Procedure if patient refuses to provide race and
ethnicity

• If the patient, or person speaking for the
  patient declines to answer, the hospital staff is
  to use its best judgement to make the correct
  classification based on available data.

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Procedure if patient considers him/herself
multi-racial

• It is recommended that the Other/Unknown race
  category be reported for people who consider
  themselves as multi-racial, mixed or interracial.

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What do we need to do now ?

• Identify a contact person at each facility to
  address any patient concerns.
• Admission Director, Manager, and/or Supervisors
  must ensure all staff members are in-serviced on
  the new process of data collection for race and
  ethnicity.
• Information Technology will modify the Advance
  System to allow space for additional information.