Data on race and ethnicity are crucial for identifying and addressing health disparities. Incomplete or inaccurate data constrain the ability of researchers, administrators, and policymakers to provide targeted assistance to groups who otherwise could be overlooked. Unfortunately, a large discrepancy exists between the many racial and ethnic categories individuals use to self-identify and available categories in typical databases. In the health care setting, categories for race and ethnicity generally follow the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) minimum standards for reporting federal data, which have not been updated since 1997.