48: Inequities in Medicine

The Physician Grind Podcast

During the pandemic, we’ve been sharing COVID-19 stories on the Physician Grind. Over the last couple of weeks as protests against police violence were met with more police violence, we stopped producing stories in an effort to drop back, listen, and give other voices the ability to speak.

Today we use our platform to discuss inequities in healthcare. One of the many ways Black People in the United States and the world are discriminated against is through medicine.

Overwhelming evidence has shown a disproportionately high infant and maternal mortality in Black populations. Other studies have shown that Black patients are more likely to have their pain under treated. Study after study across the board in medicine shows racial biases or disparities in care, risk assignment, and treatments. It is clear that race is a factor in determining the quality and care accessible to a patient. This is medical racism.

Medical history shows us racism through the generations:

Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy: 3 of many women from the 19th century who had experimental gynecologic surgeries performed without anesthesia because of the belief that Black Women feel pain differently.

Henrietta Lacks: a Black Woman who, without consent, had cancerous cervical cells harvested and used in scientific experiments for decades.

The 600 members and their families of the 40 year Tuskegee syphilis experiment, which continued without treatment after a cure had been identified.

Tyra Hunter: a Black trans woman who was inadequately treated after a car accident. Paramedics and physicians undertreated her injuries because of her gender identity which ultimately led to her death.

Serena Williams was ignored when she told her healthcare providers she was having a pulmonary embolism after giving birth. Her providers thought she was confused from her pain medications. After a significant delay the appropriate testing was performed and the diagnosis was confirmed.

There are too many names of patients who have faced medical racism and died but we will continue to say their names.

Whether we work at a private or county hospital, we are trained and committed to care for all who present to the ED. We serve as the safety net for those who have no other access to care.

As ED providers we must use our voices to advocate for those who are most in need. We must advocate against the disparities in healthcare and community resources that adversely impact our patients. This is the time for our voices to be heard.

We must have the courage and speak out:

Engage in conversation with the people in your ED. Practice how you can call out your colleagues when you hear explicit or implicit racism or biases in meetings, conversations, and jokes.

Engage with local medical professional organizations to ensure that enough is being said to invoke changes

Don’t stand on the sidelines. If you haven’t already, now is the time to take a stand.

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