Examining the History, Consequences, and Effects of Race-Based Clinical Algorithms on Health Equity

The National Academies Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity hosted a virtual public workshop in July 2023 to discuss the premise, history, and development of race-based clinical algorithms and their contributions to health inequities. Examining ways to promote race-conscious medicine, participants explored the underlying assumptions of racial differences in physiology, and parameters for identifying instances when race and ethnicity as social constructs are legitimate considerations for improving health equity, such as when promoting outreach, screening, and community education and engagement.