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5 Ways the Health-Care System Can Stop Amplifying Racism

The coronavirus pandemic didn’t create the health disparities among Americans, but it has exposed once again how stark the problem is. Black and Latino patients are two to three times as likely as white patients to be diagnosed with COVID-19, and more than four times as likely to be hospitalized for it. Black patients are more than twice as likely to die from the virus. They also die from it at younger ages. COVID-19 has exacerbated long-standing trends: Black and Latino Americans have lower rates of insurance coverage, a higher prevalence of chronic diseases, worse health outcomes, and a lower life expectancy. People in the health-care world sometimes speak of these patterns as if they are…

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 UpToDate has a racism problem. Its name is Dr. Stanley Goldfarb

For several years, Goldfarb has been a vocal critic of considering social determinants of health, racism, and anything else he considers too “woke” in medical education or health care at large.

Articles of Interest

Black Americans see a health-care system infected by racism, new poll shows

As COVID-19 disproportionately devastates Black communities, seven in ten African Americans say people are treated unfairly based on race or ethnicity when they seek medical care.

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While the first doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine are being administered to California health care workers this week — and will be available to the broader public next year — Rupert McClendon will not be rushing to get it. “I would not trust it, in no shape or form,” said 42-year-old McClendon, a special education teacher in Sacramento. McClendon’s misgivings about vaccines are rooted in family history.

Racism in Medicine: As Doctors, We Must Do Better

I implore my colleagues to not only take time to recognize the contributions of Black people in the United States, but also to acknowledge the many ways Black bodies have involuntarily contributed to medical advances we take for granted. Only then can we begin to change the health-care system and our role in perpetuating biases within it.

The Burdens of Race and History on Black People’s Health 400 Years After Jamestown

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Winning Trust for a Vaccine Means Confronting Medical Racism

The US has a long history of abusing minorities for pharmaceutical profit. Messaging for a Covid-19 inoculation will have to overcome that past.

A biased algorithm is delaying healthcare for black people in the US

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Color Bind

How to fix racial disparities in medical care.

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I Was Pregnant and in Crisis. All the Doctors and Nurses Saw Was an Incompetent Black Woman

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The politics and policy of racism in American health care

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To Be Young, A Doctor And Black: Overcoming Racial Barriers In Medical Training

As institutions everywhere confront the impacts of racism and inequity in their systems, medicine is not immune. Lack of access to health care isn't just a problem for Black patients, who continue to face economic, social, and cultural barriers. The gaps are evident in the profession itself. Black physicians remain in a disproportionately small minority. And many African American doctors say that's because medical training itself alienates them, perpetuating those gaps which, in turn, affects the care patients receive.

When Racism Anchors Your Health

An exploration of health disparities in America shows that even if you’re a black American in 2018 with a sound bank account, you can’t buy whiteness.

“Are you a doctor?” The unchecked racism faced by physicians of color.

I’m a medical student. Here’s how we’re trained to deal with racism.

Resources

White Coats for Black Lives

To dismantle racism in medicine and promote the health, well-being, and self-determination of people of color.