New Video! Watch to Learn More About Sickle Cell Disease The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) has developed a new video that discusses how to better support individuals with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), including common health disparities and barriers to care faced by individuals with SCD. SCD is the most commonly inherited blood disorder affecting an estimated 100,000 individuals living in the United States. Although SCD occurs across all racial and ethnic populations, Black and Hispanic American individuals are disproportionately affected by SCD, with SCD occurring in about 1 out of every 365 Black American births and about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic American births. Click here to watch the video. Our new SCD video outlines barriers to high-quality, continuous, and affordable health care faced by individuals living with SCD, including both newborns and adults. The video discusses common health complications faced by individuals living with SCD, including pain episodes or crises, Hand-Foot Syndrome, Acute Chest Syndrome, infection, eye disease, and stroke. Common treatment options, including blood-transfusion, IV therapy, and pain medications, are also highlighted. As we recognize National Sickle Awareness Month throughout September, we want to emphasize the importance of educating partners and providers about the health disparities facing those with SCD in order to help improve their quality of care. To learn more about SCD or how you can join CMS OMH on the path to health equity, visit go.cms.gov/omh.

 

 

CMS Office of Minority Health  |  Working to Achieve Health Equity Paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services