Manitoba to become first province to collect race-based patient data

Manitoba is set to become the first province in Canada to collect self-declared, race-based patient data in a push for more equitable health care.

The province said the information will begin being collected by Shared Health and other health service delivery organizations on May 11.

Patients will be asked about their race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity (REI) during the registration process as they access hospitals. Those who agree will choose from a list of Indigenous identities or others such as black, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern or white.

Patients can decline to self-identify, and it will not affect the care they receive.

The move is part of an initiative led by Ongomiizwin, the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.

“We know from plenty of research evidence that people don't receive the same health care quality, and there are differences that can be demonstrated by race, ethnicity and indigenous identity,” said Dr. Marcia Anderson, who is executive director of Indigenous affairs at Ongomiizwin, during an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg’s Rachel Lagacé.

“Having this data is going to allow us to measure those gaps and intervene to make things better.”

The province notes Manitoba began collecting REI data during the pandemic, which allowed public health officials to find which communities were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and allowed for real-time interventions, like targeted age or population requirements for vaccine eligibility.

The collection of this data was widely accepted, the province says, with less than two per cent of the population declining to self-identify.

The province says the information will be governed by the same health privacy legislation and practices as all other health information.

Anderson expects to be surprised by some of the gaps in health care quality that the data reveals.

“They say, ‘what gets measured gets done.’ If we have the data to highlight and show a gap, that's when we can take meaningful action and make sure that we're working to close those gaps.”

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé