Equity, 1 of the 6 dimensions of health care quality identified by the Institute of Medicine, is defined as providing care that does not vary in quality because of personal characteristics such as sex, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Along with equity, the additional dimensions of safety, effectiveness, patient centeredness, efficiency, and timeliness constitute a set of aims for health care improvement set forth in the 2001 Institute of Medicine report, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century.1