Racism has been and remains a prime cause of the deterioration in the quality of healthcare provided to patients. This has an impinge on the health of those who aren't acquiring the proper care they need. Many physicians are racist or are aware of their discrimination to those who aren't educated, have a lower socioeconomic status or simply because of their skin color. On another hand some physicians are negligent to their racial discrimination, prejudices and implicit bias to their patients. Although they aren't aware of the cost of their actions and behavior with the patient it's still causing the same harm as to those who are aware. “The heart never knows the colour of the skin.”-Chief Dan George. The heart is the muscle that pumps blood and helps transfer oxygen and nourishment throughout the body. The most important organ in the human body does not work any different because of the color of the person's skin. Why should it or any part in the human body be treated differently if the all have the same value and function?
We all deserve equal care! “Most physicians are not explicitly racist and are committed to treating all patients equally. However, they operate in an inherently racist system” (Tello 2017). Racism is not inherited, it is taught through actions and environment that surrounds the person. The work environment of a physician can be the cause of racial behavior as well. For example the way other physicians may portray certain patients of another race in a bad way, may cause others to classify everyone from that race as a bad person, without even knowing the person. The outcome of this will be seen though the way that certain patient is treated. "It is well-established that blacks and other minority groups in the U.S. experience more illness, worse outcomes, and premature death compared with whites. These health disparities were first “officially” noted back in the 1980s, and though a concerted effort by government agencies resulted in some improvement, the most recent report shows ongoing differences by race and ethnicity for all measures"(Tello 2017). Racism has been there because people are afraid of getting to know someone with a different color from thiers.
There have been studies that those of a different race or color skin don't receive the standard medical attention others do. This is due to lack of diversity training in the healthcare and poor communication with those that come from a different culture. This is a major issue because many physicians or healthcare providers are not conscious of their racial bias according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. In the study, an experiment was conducted. Some physicians attend a test on a computerized assessment that calculates how fast they can communicate and interact with patients with a negative or positive attitude. It was proven that two-thirds of doctors showed racial bias. This is to show that racism is there an it has to be addressed accordingly. Physicians must be trained to work with their racial bias before being put out on the field to start treating patients incorrectly.
"They treated me like I was trying to play them like I was just trying to get pain meds out of them. They didn’t try to make any diagnosis or help me at all. They couldn’t get rid of me fast enough"(Tello 2017). This lady went into the emergency room because she was in pain and sh didn't receive the care she needed because of her skin color. Physicians believed that she just wanted pain meds to although her medical history didnt show her as an addict of painkillers. “My son was in a bed and another boy was with his mother. Of course, they didn't speak English. The lady didn't know… she wanted to know where they were taking the boy. She asked for the girl who was interpreting for her. One of the nurses said, “I don't know why they send these people here without anybody to interpret for them. We'll come back later,' and they left… but they didn't do anything about finding out where the interpreter was” (Unequal Treatment). Two different story of how racism can be shown because the color of skin or because of lack in knowing a language. These type of behaviors lead to worsen the health of patients who are also people who in all authority have the right to be treated with the same respect.
To eliminate healthcare disparities physicians and healthcare providers, all need to recognize, name, and understand attitudes and actions. The only way to correct healthcare disparities is making people aware of it. Wide-ranging strategies need to be aimed at state and federal health policy, policies and practices of health systems, and training of healthcare providers.