Bias In Health Care Essay

This paper discusses some of this areas in more details as wells as areas that need a deeper look. Health care workers for example, health care practice, residency of minorities and opposing views. These concerns are known as health disparities, which refer to differences in health status of different groups of people. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether perceived discrimination in the health care system based on race is correlated with delays in pharmacy prescriptions or delays in medical tests or treatments.

Barriers in health care can lead to disparities in meeting health needs and receiving appropriate care, including preventive services and the prevention of unnecessary hospitalizations (HealthyPeople.gov, 2012). In their 2008 annual report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality lists several disparities’ in health care. They report that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States

Although most American citizens today associate racial and ethnic disparities in public health care quality with socioeconomic status, a majority of studies performed conclude that these discrepancies are still highly prevalent when the factor of one’s socioeconomic status is taken out of the equation. Health disparities for a certain minority result in a higher number of illness, injury, and even mortality for that race or ethnicity in comparison to white Americans; therefore, health care disparities can be defined as differences between groups in health coverage, specifically focusing on both the quality and access to care. The Office of Management and Budget has created two ethnic categories for all American citizens to fit into, being either

Despite improvements, differences persist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups. People in low-income families also experience poorer quality care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Access to care measures include facilitators and barriers to care and health care utilization experiences of subgroups defined by race and ethnicity, income, education, availability of health insurance, limited English proficiency, and availability of a usual source of care (Mandal, 2014).

In science and medicine, advancement and achievement occurs everyday. Unfortunately, this same progressive profession can be a microcosm for the discrimination that happens worldwide daily, and sometimes seems to be exacerbating alongside discoveries in health. It is undeniable, however disappointing, that health disparities exist. Because of biases and adversities based on an endless list of aspects including, but not limited to, location, race, gender, disability, and socioeconomic status, health disparities are extremely harmful to their victims. With a growing number of minority populations in every demographic, combating health disparities is necessary for the wellbeing of the overall population and improving medical care. My interest

Medical researcher, Dr. Leonard Egede, wrote "Race, Ethnicity, culture and disparities in healthcare," published in June of 2006 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. He explains that patients of minority ethnicity experience greater morbidity and mortality from different chronic diseases than non- minorities. In his article, minority patients are more vulnerable populations and include groups that do not receive health care services. According to Dr. Egede, the Institution of Medicine (IOM) racial and ethnic disparities still exist in health care, since they are connected with worse outcomes in many cases, are not acceptable. Also, IOM reports that there are some interesting views in regard to comprehending and recognizing the sources of disparities, assisting factors, planning and measuring effective interventions to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care. The role of IOM is significant because it provides suggestions and directs the importance of data collection that impacts

In addition, Hispanics, Blacks, and some Asian are less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to have a high school education or better healthcare. Some Differences in quality of care this groups have in common: Blacks received worse care than Whites for 41% of quality measures. Hispanics received worse care than non-Hispanic Whites for 39% of measures. Poor people received worse care than high-income people for 47% of measures. Inequalities in access are also common, especially among Hispanics and poor people: Blacks had worse access to care than Whites for 32% of access measures. Asians had worse access to care than Whites for 17% of access measures. Hispanics had worse access to care than non-Hispanic Whites for 63% of access measures. Poor people had worse access to care than high-income people for 89% of access

Minority health disparities continue to be a pervasive problem within the United States.The Institute of Medicine defines disparity as, “differences in treatment provided to members of different racial or ethnic groups that are not justified by underlying health conditions or preferences” (Snowden 526). Despite adjustments made to access-related factors, insurance and income, minorities still tend receive lower-quality health care than whites (Flores, Olsen and Tomany-Korman 183). According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Relatively little progress has been made toward the goal of eliminating racial/ethnic disparities” (Gronman and Ginsburg 226). In this paper, I will describe the different health disparities that racial, ethnic and sexual minorities experience throughout their lives. I will then discuss the policies health care providers and government entities have put in place in order to eliminate the disparities between minorities and whites.

One of the points raised in IOM’s article to prove that racism is a prevalent cause of health care disparity is the way the health care system is set-up, meaning at times, some hospitals and clinics can adopt a policy to contain health care cost, but may pose hindrances to minority patients’ capability to access the care.

There continues to be racial and ethnic disparities in the United States, and these problems need to be addressed since the rate of racial/ethnic populations in the country are steadily rising. According to the 2001 United States Census, “racial/ethnic minority populations are growing at such a fast rate that by 2050 more than 50% of the population will belong to a minority group” (Weech-Maldonado, Al-Amin, Nishimi, Salam, 2011). Race and ethnicity should not determine the levels of health care people receive. Certain races have genetic predispositions for certain diseases and that fact cannot be changed. However, the differences among race for things such as treatment, access to health care, and availability of medicine should not be as great as they are. One of the most important disparities that exists between racial/ethnic groups is access to care, specifically how access to care is limited due to treatment not being tailored to the needs of different minorities.

Health disparities are gaps in the quality of health and health care that mirror differences in socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, and education level. These disparities may stem from many factors, including accessibility of health care, increased risk of disease from occupational exposure, and increased risk of disease from underlying genetic, ethnic, or familial factors (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

One of the goals of Healthy People 2020 is to increase access to health care, specifically through reducing “the proportion of persons who are unable to obtain or delay in obtaining necessary medical care” (Healthy People 2020) from 4.7 percent to 4.2 percent. The Center for Medicare Advocacy, and the California Health Policy Forum, have both identified race and ethnicity as key components of healthcare disparity. Defined as “a difference in which disadvantaged social groups such as the poor, racial/ethnic minorities, women and other groups who have persistently experienced social disadvantage or discrimination systematically experience worse health or greater health risks than more advantaged social groups,” (Center for Medicare Advocacy) policies to protect this population are non-specific.

Gordon Moskowitz and his co-authors’ (2012) expands on this discussion of unconscious bias by associating it with stereotyping certain racial groups. The providers’ unconscious biases are referred to as implicit biases, and demonstrate usefulness if correctly used to identify groups more readily susceptible to a health condition than others (996). When used correctly to identify these individuals, patient outcomes have a positive outcome. However, a hasty assumption that leads to an incorrect stereotype results in severe negative outcomes from a resulting incomplete or inaccurate diagnosis by the physician (1000). These implicit biases also tie back to the previous theme

Changes in access to health care across different populations are the chief reason for current disparities in health care provision. These changes occur for several reasons, and some of the main factors that contribute to the problem in the United States are: Lack of health insurance – Several racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other minority groups lack adequate health insurance coverage in comparison with people who can afford healthcare insurance. The majority of these individuals are likely to put off health care or go without the necessary healthcare and medication that is needed. Lack of financial resources – Lack of accessibility to funding is a barrier to health care for a lot of people living in the United States

Biases can be destructive to an effective healthcare team. It is important to maintain a sense of professionalism and respect for all patients, regardless of any personal biases. These biases can be either surface level biases, not changeable, physical attributes such as race, language, or appearance, or deep level biases, which are based on things such as personality, values, or attitude (Weiss, Tilin, & Morgan, 2014). Providing effective patient care is the number one priority in healthcare. The health care providers own personal opinions and biases should not be a factor that affects the level of patient care that the healthcare provider gives.