Collection of Data on Race/Ethnicity and Language Proficiency of Providers

Objectives: To determine the extent to which health plans were collecting and using data on the race, ethnicity, and language proficiency of network physicians and other network providers. Study Design: Survey of health plans conducted in 2010, with results compared with data from similar surveys conducted in 2006 and 2008. Methods: Surveys were sent by e-mail to representatives of 250 health plans identified through the Atlantic Information Service's Directory of Health Plans: 2010. Basic descriptive statistics were used to characterize response patterns to individual items in the 2010 survey and to compare responses to matching items in the 2006 and 2008 surveys. Results: Approximately half of responding plans reported collecting data on race/ethnicity of providers. This proportion was not significantly different from that of previous years' surveys, and several plans that had been collecting data on providers' race/ethnicity in 2006 had discontinued the practice by 2010. Nearly all plans reported collecting data about languages spoken for 1 or more types of employees or providers. Plans were more likely in 2010 than in 2006 to verify language proficiency of staff and share this information with plan members. Conclusions: Even though health plans and other healthcare organizations were more likely in 2010 than in the past to collect data on member/patient race, ethnicity, and language preferences, collection and use of data on providers' race/ethnicity have not expanded in scope since 2006. Collection and use of data on providers' proficiency in languages other than English were more common.