Health policy and public health

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Articles, page 57

A physician awakens to racism in America

June 15, 2020Jun 15, 20202

Until recently, I didn't really understand the meaning behind the Black Lives Matter movement. I was one of those people who felt, "of course, black lives matter; all lives matter." I mean, that's exactly why I became a doctor in…

Until recently, I didn’t really understand the meaning behind the Black Lives Matter movement. I was one of those people who felt, “of course, black lives matter; all lives matter.” I mean, that’s exactly why I became a doctor in the first place. To help people. All people. I would venture to say that with my rose-colored glasses and white privilege (that I didn’t know I had), I was even …

Health policy

South Asian physicians must be part of the solution against racism

Inna Husain, MD & Meeta Shah, MD

June 15, 2020Jun 15, 2020

Over the last few days, physicians and nurses across the country have taken a knee, galvanized by the recent death of George Floyd, as well as the disproportionate effect of the coronavirus pandemic on African-American families. The White Coats for Black Lives movement firmly identifies racism as a public health issue and calls on everyone in the health care system to take action.

As physicians, we can see what

…

Health policy

Why this physician marched during a pandemic

Raj Sundar, MD

June 15, 2020Jun 15, 20203

The nature of the virus has not changed. Large gatherings of people increase the risk of transmission of a deadly COVID-19 virus that could kill me, my loved ones, and my community. I have emphasized this for the past few months to my patients and scolded anyone who casually and carelessly broke public health recommendations at their convenience. However, after witnessing the murder of George Floyd by the police, as …

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Medical education

How medical education fails minority students

Shenyece Ferguson

June 14, 2020Jun 14, 20204

“You have to work twice as hard to get half as far.” As a black woman, this sentiment has haunted me for my entire life. Minority individuals are consistently forced to go above and beyond to prove themselves, regardless of…

“You have to work twice as hard to get half as far.”

As a black woman, this sentiment has haunted me for my entire life. Minority individuals are consistently forced to go above and beyond to prove themselves, regardless of the setting. Unfortunately, medical education is no different. Black and Hispanic students, often referred to as underrepresented minority (URM) students, consistently face racial bias, which places them at a disadvantage to …

Physician voices

To my friends in the black community: I hope your children breathe

Michael Northrop, MD

June 14, 2020Jun 14, 2020

The tenets of managing an ICU are relatively simple: Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round. There’s this moment in the delivery room where everyone holds their breath. In that silence, we expect a tiny gasp or…

The tenets of managing an ICU are relatively simple: Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round.

There’s this moment in the delivery room where everyone holds their breath. In that silence, we expect a tiny gasp or maybe a big cry. “Why isn’t he crying,” moms often ask. “Is there a problem? Is he breathing?” In that forever moment, the pediatrician in the room is wondering if they …

Health policy

We are not trying to be conservative or liberal. We are human.

Christine Meyer, MD

June 13, 2020Jun 13, 2020

My mother has a tattoo. Really. She does. There is a small blue crucifix on the inner aspect of her right wrist. Let me pause here to point out a few things. First of all, my mother is not a…

My mother has a tattoo. Really. She does.

There is a small blue crucifix on the inner aspect of her right wrist. Let me pause here to point out a few things. First of all, my mother is not a “tattoo” person. Secondly, the inner aspect of the wrist is one of the most sensitive areas of the human body. Third, my mom doesn’t like needles. All that to say, if …

Health policy

Protect and serve. Do no harm. Both are failing.

Jayshree Chander, MD, MPH

June 13, 2020Jun 13, 2020

Protect and serve. Do no harm. These are covenants our public servants promise to us. Police officers and clinicians are both entrusted with attending to our health and safety. Both are failing. We must be able to trust clinicians and…

Protect and serve. Do no harm. These are covenants our public servants promise to us. Police officers and clinicians are both entrusted with attending to our health and safety. Both are failing.

We must be able to trust clinicians and police with the intricate details of our living and dying. When they deliberately lapse in integrity, or are completely negligent of due diligence, they need to either be

…

Health policy

Adapting medical safety standards to enhance police outcomes

Richard Plotzker, MD

June 12, 2020Jun 12, 2020

As a resident in the 1970s, I used to receive the AMA weekly newsletter. A squib of a few paragraphs noted that the Alabama Medical Board had issued a reprimand to a surgeon for suturing the hand of a young African-American man, then removing the sutures when the fellow did not have $25 on him to cover the fee. The surgeon contested, indicating that a patient should have the expectation …

Health policy

It takes more than marching to make Black lives matter in health care

Torie S. Sepah, MD

June 11, 2020Jun 11, 2020

When we hear or chant, "Black Lives Matter," what all does this refer to? Is it the gruesome police brutality in the death of George Floyd? Or the murder of Ahmaud Arbery? Absolutely. But what else should it refer to?…

When we hear or chant, “Black Lives Matter,” what all does this refer to? Is it the gruesome police brutality in the death of George Floyd? Or the murder of Ahmaud Arbery? Absolutely. But what else should it refer to? We know that Black lives aren’t equal in the face of COVID-19. As physicians, have we considered all the ways that Black lives may matter less in health care despite …

Health policy

It’s time for a comprehensive universal health care system in America

Sagar Chapagain, MD

June 11, 2020Jun 11, 2020

When it comes to health care, this election cycle has been different than previous ones. Either it is Medicare for all or public option in the ACA, democratic candidates have shown support for some version of universal health care. As the health care costs, including prescription drug prices, keep rising, many Americans have started to advocate for universal health care coverage. At the same time, others still believe in the …

Health policy

What do white LGBTQIA+ people owe to the black community?

Kristin Puhl, MD

June 11, 2020Jun 11, 2020

"What do we owe to each other?" If you watch television, you may recognize that as a quote from the show The Good Place; if you’re a philosophy buff, you may recognize the work of T. M. Scanlon on contractualism.…

“What do we owe to each other?”

If you watch television, you may recognize that as a quote from the show The Good Place; if you’re a philosophy buff, you may recognize the work of T. M. Scanlon on contractualism. Either way, it’s a good question. It comes up frequently, in one form or another, when we think about what it means to have a truly just society.

June is Pride month. …

Health policy

Black health care professionals are in mourning and deserve to be entirely heard

Ellelan Degife

June 10, 2020Jun 10, 2020

Black health care professionals are in mourning. Over the last three months, we have watched COVID-19 ravage our communities and claim the lives of our patients, friends, and family — in the process, the disease has been recognized as anything but the “great equalizer,” highlighting the racial and socioeconomic inequities that have long lead to worse health outcomes amongst black populations.

Moreover, we have seen an uptick …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Don’t let the protests become last week’s news. It is our reality every day. [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

June 9, 2020Jun 9, 2020

"Here we are again, mourning the death of another black person at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect and defend our rights. Another casualty in the 400+ year struggle that we have had in this country…

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“Here we are again, mourning the death of another black person at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect and defend our rights. Another casualty in the 400+ year struggle that we have had in this country to be granted the same right to liberty, the same access to success and the same ability to live without fear, …

The Podcast by KevinMD

The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

June 9, 2020Jun 9, 2020

"Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets. The sobering mortality statistics, however, dispense any notion of an equal-opportunity crisis,…

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

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“Some media outlets and public figures have heralded the ongoing pandemic as a great equalizer, referencing the pathogen’s indiscriminate spread and disregard for national borders and tax brackets.

The sobering mortality statistics, however, dispense any notion of an equal-opportunity crisis, revealing a familiar theme among public health challenges in America: significant racial disparities exist, and communities of color are disproportionately affected.” …

Health policy

Anti-blackness is a public health issue

Adham Sameer A. Bardeesi, MD & Divya K. Chhabra, MD & Gillian S. Gould, PhD & Kimberly Grocher, LCSW & Mary Pan Wierusz, MD & Naila Russell, DNP, FNP-BC & Susan Dix Lyons & Yolanda Kirkham, MD

June 9, 2020Jun 9, 2020

When we think of the legacy of racism in the U.S., hospitals aren't one of the first places we imagine – but they should be. "It's never going to change." "Sometimes it's too heavy to bear." '"I'm so angry –…

When we think of the legacy of racism in the U.S., hospitals aren’t one of the first places we imagine – but they should be.

“It’s never going to change.” “Sometimes it’s too heavy to bear.” ‘”I’m so angry – I’m just tired of holding it all in.”

These statements reflect the pain of our patients of color. They may resonate with all of us in our country’s current climate, as the …

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Anti-blackness is a public health issue

The Podcast by KevinMD

Why medical trainees need knowledge and education on health care systems and policy [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

June 8, 2020Jun 8, 2020

"As medical trainees, we will shape the rapidly changing health care environment in this country. We are fiercely advocating for our disadvantaged patients, debating the price of life-saving medications, and carefully considering how the upcoming elections will shape the health…

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“As medical trainees, we will shape the rapidly changing health care environment in this country. We are fiercely advocating for our disadvantaged patients, debating the price of life-saving medications, and carefully considering how the upcoming elections will shape the health care system in which we both provide and receive care. All the while, we handle our responsibilities and prepare to care …

Health policy

The war on drugs: America’s secret racist war today

Jay Wong

June 8, 2020Jun 8, 2020

When former U.S. President Richard Nixon officially declared his crusade against drugs, notoriously referred to as his so-called “War on Drugs,” on June 17, 1971, America’s police-prison-profit industrial complex could at best prognosticate and at worst balefully pray for the…

If there is one thing that has been made unassailably clear to us in the decades …

Health policy

Anti-racism must be a priority for medical institutions

Alex Coston

June 7, 2020Jun 7, 2020

I want to start with a moment of silence to remember so many who have been stolen from their families and communities as a direct result of rampant white supremacy, anti-blackness, and police violence: George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade,…

George Floyd was murdered on May 25. Protests began the following day in Minneapolis and have catalyzed a swift wave of righteous anger and rebellion …

Health policy

We need more black cops. We need more black physicians.

Farhan S. Imran, MD

June 7, 2020Jun 7, 20207

I am neither black nor white. I’m brown. I can choose to stay silent and indifferent, but the human and the American in me urges me to express my feelings and opinion about the current situation in the country resulting from a series of unfortunate events, particularly George Floyd’s blatant murder in broad daylight.

I immigrated to this great country about fifteen years ago. From a distance,

…

Health policy

Why whole person care is needed for better population health management

Trisha Swift, DNP, RN

June 7, 2020Jun 7, 2020

Many health care organizations – health plans and hospitals alike – continue to debate what it means to provide population health management (PHM). Most have landed on a definition that aligns closely with what PHM means to them, rather than operationalizing an overly broad definition that doesn’t resonate with the populations and communities they serve. This is smart. But what’s missing is the focus on a more important question: What …

Health policy and public health

Articles, page 57

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