In the United States there are notable disparities in health care for minorities as compared to nonminorities. Black Americans and LGBTQ+ Americans of all ethnicities tend not to receive the same quality of health care that their cisgender straight white counterparts receive.
According to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than white people—even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable. NAM cited one study of 400 hospitals in the United States that showed Black patients with heart disease received older, cheaper and less effective treatments than their white counterparts and were less likely to receive coronary bypass operations and angiography. After surgery, they are discharged earlier than is prudent when compared to white patients.
Research from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that LGBTQ+ individuals, especially adolescents, face health disparities linked to societal stigma but significant, specific data is missing due to the fact that not all state and national surveys include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lack of equitable treatment can lead to a host of problems including higher rates of:
· Morbidity;
· mortality, including infant and maternal;
· psychiatric disorders;
· substance use disorder, including tobacco and alcohol, and;
· suicide.
The American Medical Association and Department of Health and Human Services have both added eliminating inequitable treatment to their goals, with a focus on educating health care providers on implicit and explicit bias and collecting all necessary data to improve health care outcomes. The Healthy People initiative was created by the DHHS to focus on and improve the overall health status of Americans and to eliminate health care disparities amongst racial and ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ+ population.
At Revan, we understand all too well the pain and frustration that comes with not feeling heard by your family care provider and we are committed to helping end systemic racism and discrimination in health care and beyond.
Revan Health provides welcoming, respectful family medicine for all from infants to geriatrics. We believe access to respectful care is key to improving medicine adherence and overall life satisfaction for our patients. Like us on Facebook or visit us at revanhealth.com.
Sources:
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/reducing-disparities-health-care
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/lgbt