Is it okay to first pilot test race/ethnicity/language data collection in one or two units?
Yes, it is acceptable and recommended that you pilot your new data collection system. You may want to consider pilot testing in both inpatient and outpatient settings. • When is the best time to start communicating these changes to the community and our patient population? As soon as possible. You can use your hospital newsletter, community meetings, e-mail, and other venues at your disposal. You may also want to develop an informational pamphlet (in conjunction with your community relations department) that registration staff can hand out to patients. • Should we ask patients for their race/ethnicity/primary language each time they come to the hospital? If your hospital’s patient registration screen can be flagged for each patient to show that the race/ethnicity/language information was captured after the training and introduction of your new system, then you do not have to ask these questions every time. However, if you do not maintain a database (e.g., this information is purged eve
