# Maternal Health Disparities * **Definition:** Maternal health disparities refer to the differences in health outcomes and access to healthcare services experienced by women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, often influenced by factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, and systemic inequities in healthcare systems. * **Taxonomy:** Healthcare Topics / Maternal Health Disparities ## News * Selected news on the topic of **Maternal Health Disparities**, for healthcare technology leaders * 6.3K news items are in the system for this topic * Posts have been filtered for tech and healthcare-related keywords | Date | Title | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | 5/26/2025 | [**JAMA**](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2834439) | [[JAMA Network]] | | 5/19/2025 | [**Maternal health AI agent, cloud device pilot to connect rural mothers to care**](https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/maternal-health-ai-agent-cloud-device-pilot-connect-rural-mothers-care) | [[Healthcare IT News]] | | 5/13/2025 | [**Navigating Financial Resilience and Outpatient Growth: Strategies for a Shifting Healthcare ...**](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/podcasts/podcasts-beckers-hospital-review/navigating-financial-resilience-and-outpatient-growth-strategies-for-a-shifting-healthcare-landscape/) | [[Beckers Hospital Review]] | | 5/7/2025 | [**She's a doctor with access to the best prenatal care. Why did childbirth nearly kill her?**](https://www.aol.com/shes-doctor-access-best-prenatal-113032675.html) | [[AOL]] | | 4/14/2025 | [**Health Equity eekly Roundup: April 14, 2025**](https://www.ajmc.com/view/health-equity-access-weekly-roundup-april-14-2025) | [[AJMC]] | | 4/8/2025 | [**Qcher addresses understanding Black maternal health disparities, providing culturally competent care**](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-qa-black-maternal-health-disparities.html) | [[MedicalXpress]] | | 2/18/2025 | [**At the HIMSS25 AI In Healthcare Forum, tech and tactics**](https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/himss25-ai-healthcare-forum-tech-and-tactics) | [[Healthcare IT News]] | | 2/18/2025 | [**Top 6 Growth Opportunities for the Digital Health Industry in 2025 - Yahoo Finance**](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-6-growth-opportunities-digital-113700160.html) | [[Yahoo Finance]] | | 2/10/2025 | [**Health Equity eekly Roundup: February 10, 2025**](https://www.ajmc.com/view/health-equity-access-weekly-roundup-february-10-2025) | [[AJMC]] | | 2/4/2025 | [**Partnering with Community Organizations and Ensuring Equitable Access to ... - Healthcare IT Today**](https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2025/02/04/partnering-with-community-organizations-and-ensuring-equitable-access-to-healthcare-services-for-marginalized-and-vulnerable-populations/) | [[Healthcare IT Today]] | | 1/30/2025 | [**Healthcare AI Agents: New Opportunities for the High-Tech Industry - Medium**](https://medium.com/@alexglee/healthcare-ai-agents-new-opportunities-for-the-high-tech-industry-f19c6c41c232) | [[Medium]] | | 1/28/2025 | [**How Technology is Democratizing Healthcare - by Brooke Walker - Jan, 2025 - Medium**](https://medium.com/@walkerbrooke301/how-technology-is-democratizing-healthcare-e99590a77506) | [[Medium]] | | 1/15/2025 | [**How Clinical Pharmacist-Led Telehealth Models Are Transforming Diabetes Care**](https://hitconsultant.net/2025/01/15/how-clinical-pharmacist-led-telehealth-models-are-transforming-diabetes-care/) | [[HIT Consultant]] | | 1/8/2025 | [**Jaishankar Inukonda Receives 2024 Global Recognition Award for Data Engineering**](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/jaishankar-inukonda-receives-2024-global-recognition-award-for-data-engineering-1034206248) | [[Business Insider Markets]] | | 1/7/2025 | [**Hosts Open Mic on 2025**](https://www.healthitanswers.net/hosts-open-mic-on-2025/) | [[Health IT Answers]] | | 12/20/2024 | [**The Download: Digital Twins, AI Data, and the Future of Healthcare - Medium**](https://medium.com/vanguard-industry-foresight/the-download-digital-twins-ai-data-and-the-future-of-healthcare-64cb675dfb58) | [[Medium]] | | 12/15/2024 | [**Canada's Healthcare Logistics Market to Grow by USD 2.34 Billion (2024-2028), Legislative Changes Supporting Pharma Growth and AI Trends - Technavio**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadas-healthcare-logistics-market-to-grow-by-usd-2-34-billion-2024-2028-legislative-changes-supporting-pharma-growth-and-ai-trends---technavio-302331360.html) | [[PR Newswire]] | | 11/25/2024 | [**Healthcare Logistics Market in Canada to Grow by USD 2.34 Billion (2024-2028), Driven by Regulatory Support for Pharma Growth, AI Powering Market Evolution - Technavio**](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthcare-logistics-market-in-canada-to-grow-by-usd-2-34-billion-2024-2028-driven-by-regulatory-support-for-pharma-growth-ai-powering-market-evolution---technavio-302314295.html) | [[PR Newswire]] | | 11/22/2024 | [**Closing America's Diabetes Divide: A $412 Billion Opportunity to Transform Diabetes Care**](https://medcitynews.com/2024/11/closing-americas-diabetes-divide-a-412-billion-opportunity-to-transform-diabetes-care/) | [[MedCity News]] | | 10/24/2024 | [**The Convergence of Digital Health and Life Sciences**](https://medcitynews.com/2024/10/the-convergence-of-digital-health-and-life-sciences/) | [[MedCity News]] | | 10/16/2024 | [**12 Compelling Sessions to Check Out at HLTH 2024 - MedCity News**](https://medcitynews.com/2024/10/12-compelling-sessions-to-check-out-at-hlth-2024/) | [[MedCity News]] | | 7/31/2024 | [**Top 10 Clinical Perinatal Software Companies - Best Support Provided**](https://media.market.us/top-10-clinical-perinatal-software-companies/) | media.market.us | | 6/27/2024 | [**Healthcare Analytics Information, News and Tips - TechTarget**](https://www.techtarget.com/healthtechanalytics/) | techtarget.com | | 9/21/2023 | [**MedCity FemFwd Podcast**](https://medcitynews.com/tag/medcity-femfwd-podcast/) | [[MedCity News]] | | 4/6/2023 | [**About the Editors**](https://www.nature.com/npjwomenshealth/editors) | [[Nature]] | ## Topic Overview (Some LLM-derived content — please confirm with above primary sources) ### Key Players - **HHS and CMS**: Government agencies proposing initiatives to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly for marginalized groups. - **PolicyMap**: A platform that integrates data to identify maternal health disparities and facilitate targeted interventions. - **CVS Health**: A healthcare provider discussing the impact of pharmaceutical innovations on maternal health outcomes. - **Hera Women's Health**: An organization focused on improving maternal health outcomes through innovative programs. - **MITRE**: An organization focused on enhancing healthcare resiliency and data-driven innovation, including maternal health. - **Circadian Health**: A healthcare provider recognized for addressing systemic inequities in diabetes care for urban Medicaid populations. - **Cityblock Health**: A healthcare provider focused on delivering integrated care to underserved populations, including maternal health services. - **O Community Doulas**: An organization that supports doulas in underserved communities, enhancing maternal health care through technology. - **Pomelo Care**: A virtual medical practice aimed at improving maternal and newborn health outcomes through funding and partnerships. - **National Community Pharmacists Association**: An organization advocating for community pharmacists to enhance maternal health through screenings, education, and immunizations. - **Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI)**: An organization focused on improving maternal and infant health outcomes through the CenteringPregnancy program, which combines medical care, education, and peer support. - **Veradigm**: Integrating social determinants of health into its EHR data to enhance research capabilities and address health disparities. - **LunaJoy Health**: A company providing online educational modules for clinicians in women's mental health, particularly in maternal care. - **Centene Foundation**: A foundation that supports initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities. - **Hartford HealthCare**: Operates over 500 locations, utilizing Wellstack's data platform to improve patient care and reduce health disparities. - **Rush University Medical Center**: Pioneering a national strategy to address healthcare disparities through innovative digital technology solutions. - **WellSpan Health**: Partnered with Hippocratic AI to launch a GenAI healthcare agent aimed at improving access to cancer screenings for underserved populations. - **Avel eCare**: A telemedicine provider partnering with Cibolo Health to improve healthcare access in rural areas. ### Partnerships and Collaborations - **Hera Women's Health and High Risk Pregnancy Center**: Launched the Medical Maternity Home Program to improve access to prenatal care for rural communities facing maternal health disparities. - **Women's Health Access Matters and KPMG**: Partnering to enhance women's health research and investment. - **American Telemedicine Association**: Joining the Collaborative for Telehealth and Aging to promote telehealth solutions for maternal health. - **CHI and Healthcare Providers**: CHI aims to form partnerships with healthcare providers and stakeholders to expand access to the CenteringPregnancy program, particularly for Black birthing individuals and Medicaid-qualifying patients. - **Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition, Baptist Health, Philips Avent**: Collaborating to provide a free subscription to the Pregnancy+ app to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. - **Loyola Medicine and community organizations**: Strategic partnerships to tackle health disparities and improve care coordination. - **Pear Suite and O Community Doulas**: This partnership aims to create a Doula Help Desk to enhance support for maternal and child health through technology. - **Hartford HealthCare and WellStack**: This partnership aims to enhance digital health strategies by utilizing WellStack's data platform for better integration and analytics, ultimately improving patient care and reducing health disparities. - **LunaJoy Health and Medical Institutions**: LunaJoy is exploring partnerships with medical institutions to address educational gaps in behavioral health care for underserved populations. - **WellSpan Health and Hippocratic AI**: Launching a GenAI healthcare agent to improve patient interaction and access to screenings. - **Wellstack and Hartford HealthCare**: Enhancing data integration and patient-centered care through advanced analytics. - **Rocket Doctor and EngageWell**: A collaboration to improve virtual care for aging New Yorkers and address healthcare disparities. - **Avel eCare and Cibolo Health**: A partnership aimed at enhancing healthcare access in rural communities through telemedicine. - **SEQSTER PDM Inc. and Antidote Technologies**: This collaboration aims to improve clinical trial recruitment and patient identification, promoting diversity in clinical trials. ### Innovations, Trends, and Initiatives - **Medical Maternity Home Program**: A program set to begin operations in late 2025, aimed at providing comprehensive maternal-fetal medicine and behavioral health services to underserved areas. - **M.O.M.S. Tour**: A community initiative aimed at addressing maternal health disparities through education and support, emphasizing the preventability of pregnancy-related deaths. - **Granular Maternity Vulnerability Index (gMVI)**: Integrated into PolicyMap, this index identifies vulnerable populations and highlights disparities in maternal health, particularly among Black women. - **SMART Postpartum BP trial**: A study testing telemedicine strategies for managing postpartum blood pressure, focusing on disparities among Black women. - **AI in Maternal Health**: Innovations in AI are expected to enhance personalized care delivery in women's health, addressing disparities through improved data analysis and patient monitoring. - **Value-based care**: A healthcare model focusing on rewarding providers for high-quality care, which is crucial for addressing maternal health disparities. - **Pregnancy+ app**: An app providing personalized content and resources to support expectant mothers, aimed at improving maternal health outcomes. - **CenteringPregnancy Program**: CHI's program has significantly reduced preterm birth rates and improved health outcomes for over 500,000 patients nationwide. - **2025 Physician Fee Schedule**: Proposed by HHS and CMS to enhance behavioral health services and extend telehealth waivers, aiming to improve maternal health access. - **Integration of Social Determinants of Health**: Veradigm's EHR data now includes SDoH to provide insights for addressing health disparities. - **Telehealth and AI-enabled remote monitoring**: Technologies that are essential for improving access to healthcare for marginalized populations, particularly in rural areas. - **Telehealth in Schools**: Emerging as a solution to provide immediate medical attention to students, addressing healthcare access in underserved areas. - **Telemedicine Growth**: The expansion of telehealth services is crucial for improving access to care, especially in underserved areas. - **Techquity**: The strategic design and deployment of technology aimed at advancing health equity, particularly through EHR systems. - **Digital Health Tools**: Innovations in digital health are enhancing patient care and fostering collaboration across healthcare sectors. - **AI in Healthcare**: AI is seen as a tool to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities through enhanced disease detection and affordable diagnostic tools. - **AI-Powered Diagnostic Tools**: Transforming healthcare by enhancing diagnostic accuracy and expanding access to specialized care. ### Challenges and Concerns - **Systemic Disparities**: The legacy of redlining and other systemic issues continues to adversely affect minority health outcomes, particularly in maternal health. - **Maternal Mortality Disparities**: Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white women, highlighting urgent health disparities. - **Access to Care**: Many underserved populations face significant barriers to accessing maternal health services, exacerbated by systemic inequities. - **Maternal Mortality Rates**: Rising rates attributed to inadequate access to care, chronic health conditions, and mental health issues, particularly affecting marginalized groups. - **Unconscious Bias**: Impacting maternal health disparities, necessitating training and awareness in healthcare settings. - **Healthcare Disparities**: Significant disparities exist in healthcare access and outcomes, particularly affecting low-income and rural populations. - **Cybersecurity Threats**: Increasing cyber threats pose risks to maternal health data, necessitating enhanced cybersecurity measures in healthcare settings. - **Digital Divide**: Significant challenge to equitable telehealth access, particularly affecting vulnerable populations. - **Ethical Implications of AI**: Risks associated with unconsented data use and the potential for biased outputs exacerbating healthcare disparities. - **AI and Healthcare Equity**: Concerns regarding reimbursement models, regulatory restrictions, and potential clinician burnout. - **Cultural Resistance**: Cultural hurdles are identified as primary obstacles to the effective adoption of AI in healthcare. - **AI Concerns**: While AI has the potential to improve health outcomes, there are concerns about the lack of human oversight and the ethical implications of its use in healthcare. - **Data Bias and Transparency**: Concerns about algorithmic bias and lack of transparency in AI data sourcing pose ethical challenges. ## Related Topics [[Maternal Health]]; [[Health Disparities]]; [[Maternal Healthcare]]; [[Healthcare Disparities]]; [[Maternal Mortality Rates]]; [[Healthcare Access Disparities]]