How Michigan Collaboratives Reduce Disparities

Background: Disparities exist in both health and health care. Differences in the quality of care received by individuals may result in differential outcomes, including increased prevalence of disease or decreased life expectancy. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe successful quality collaborative efforts in cardiovascular medicine that demonstrate the impact of creating high quality systems to standardize care, reduce disparities, and improve patient outcomes. Methods: Six cardiovascular collaboratives within Michigan were reviewed based on their success, innovation, and contributions to knowledge and practice. Conclusion: Equitably improving care can help to eliminate disparities. Providers, researchers, thought leaders, and institutions must work together. Monitoring outcomes and benchmarking practice while embedding evidencebased guidelines into systems, is one way to improve care quality for all.