September 27, 2022

EP. 101 There is no health without health equity

23 minutes

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Dr. Ivor Horn, health equity expert and Chief Health Equity Officer at Google. For Dr. Horn, her journey to being impactful in medicine began with her father’s care where she saw what it looked like to not be respected. Early on, having impact led her to academics with an intent to educate physicians on how to deliver culturally competent care. Dr. Horn noted seeing technology integrated into patients’ lives but NOT integrated into the health journey of a patient. Understanding the opportunity for change and impact, this galvanized her into the tech space.

In this episode you will hear:

Early on, how far did we have to go with health equity? A LONG WAY as Silicon Valley did have an understanding of health disparities across communities and there was low appreciation for any financial value in addressing inequities

Fast forward to today, where there has been quite a bit of progress. Use of technology is the norm to support someone’s health journey just as technology is integrated into all of our lives.

Discerning hype around health equity from meaningful work comes down to views on the long game versus looking for a PR moment. Health equity work means sustained changes in infrastructure, process and accountability to weather ebbs and flows of support or resource commitment.

The importance of the bottom-line impacts of health equity which are key to sustained support beyond health equity focus due to its moral imperative.

Cautious optimism about the future for health equity!! Dr. Horn is seeing organizations building more educated teams, that appreciate nuance. We MAY be seeing a next wave of resources in the world of health equity. Also key for the long-time experts to avoid burn out given the magnitude of the work.

What is possible five years out? Global companies that have health equity built into their plans in the same way that sustainability is embedded in board conversations today. There is no health without health equity.

Dr. Horn also provides some words of advice regarding finding balance in her busy life. Family, friends and exercise!!! She also highly recommends a good therapist to remind you that what you are thinking is real and a coach to help you to then navigate!

Dr. Ivor Horn

Chief Health Equity Officer

Google

Dr. Ivor Braden Horn has over 20+ years of experience as an executive in health systems, academic, and venture-backed entrepreneurial environments.

She is a sought-after advisor for health technology companies and has served on advisory committees and boards for several academic, philanthropic, government and for-profit organizations.

As a strategic leader, Ivor has demonstrated expertise in driving organizational change within technology and product innovation and implementing efforts to drive quality improvement and stakeholder engagement. Ivor has a track record of implementing programs to improve health outcomes, reduce regulatory compliance risk and establish partnerships with community-based organizations to better serve at-risk populations.

You can follow Dr. Horn on LinkedIn or her WEBSITE

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By Laurie McGraw

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