Medical Bias? There’s a Bill Brewing That Could Help Stem It.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduces legislation that formally identifies systemic racism as a public health crisis
Most physicians think they treat all patients the same, but we know that is a lie.
Just like there is a stark disparity in Covid-19 deaths in Black patients (two times higher) and Latinx patients (one times higher) compared with White patients, there are similar life-or-death outcomes in Black and Latinx newborns. Tiffani Johnson, MD, at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia discovered that implicit bias occurs in Black and Latinx babies and children, even more so than Black and Latinx adults.
Most physicians enter medicine to help people and make a difference. Many doctors are really trying, but reproducible data shows all people are biased, no matter their education level. Physicians are all unintentionally biased, especially against Black and Latinx patients. This unfortunately means Black and Latinx patients, including babies, become ill and die at higher rates than White babies. These patients and their parents are spoken to with less compassion and report feeling as if they were treated differently than other patients.
