Zimmer Biomet announced today that it signed the Global Health Equity Network’s (GHEN) Zero Health Gaps Pledge.
This pledge marks a commitment from CEOs across industries and regions to embed health equity in core strategies, operations and investments. A number of medtech companies, including Medtronic, Fresenius, Henry Schein, Hologic and Philips previously signed this pledge.
Zimmer Biomet established a Health Equity division as part of an effort to make strides in that area. It aims to understand the drivers of disparities in orthopedic care and forge partnerships to collaborate on solutions to reduce inequities. The company wants to establish clear measures to track its progress against short- and long-term goals.
“I am proud to sign the Zero Health Gaps Pledge to affirm Zimmer Biomet’s decades-long commitment to tackling musculoskeletal health disparities and hold ourselves accountable on the global stage for driving measurable and impactful strategies to bring quality medical care to underserved communities,” Ivan Tornos, president and CEO at Zimmer Biomet, said in a news release. “Forming a dedicated health equity-focused division that sits outside our philanthropic organization not only reinforces health equity as a broader corporate core value, but also elevates it to a business imperative and growth driver.”
The company’s Health Equity division has a 12-member strategic advisory board of surgeons. It has work underway on a community-centered care framework to align the interests and incentives of surgeons, hospitals, payors and the community. The unit aims to increase patient access to quality care within underserved communities through this framework.
It implements a multi-pronged approach that includes engaging surgeons in target communities and increasing minority representation. Zimmer Biomet hopes to forge partnerships with healthcare and research institutions on this front as well.