We’re excited to share the topic and questions for this week’s #HITsm chat happening Friday, 12/3 at Noon ET (9 AM PT). This week’s chat will be hosted by Rachel Miller (@ray_hmiller) from @HealthcareScene on the topic “Discrimination in Healthcare.”
Navigating the world of healthcare can be a tricky task, especially with the wide range of biases that exist in the system. Indeed, only a lucky few aren’t discriminated against in some way when seeking medical attention.
For instance, many doctors judge health based on weight and BMI index. The fatter you get, and the higher your BMI index becomes, the more likely it is for you to be misdiagnosed. Every problem you have is because you ‘need to lose weight’ and lower your BMI. Yet, BMI is a deeply flawed equation created by a mathematician who never practiced in the medical field.
Misdiagnoses are also rampant for people of color. Prejudices and biases may prevent physicians from listening to their minority patients or from taking their word seriously. Another major issue is that medical textbooks use white men as the universal model of health, completely disregarding how symptoms can manifest differently for people of color. This is so bad that Spora Health launched virtual primary care for people of color.
People with low incomes have to weigh between getting the medical help they need and being able to afford rent or groceries. This has resulted in people trying to ration out life saving medicine like insulin, or calling ride share companies to get to the hospital instead of ambulances. Medical care has become so unaffordable that GoFundMe, which originally started out as a way for people to crowd source funding for projects, now sees 1 in 3 campaigns go towards healthcare costs.
Gender and sexuality are another source of discrimination in health care. Women may have consideration given to their husband’s desires before their own on things like tubal ligation and other birth control methods. Men who have sex with other men have to wait three months from their last sexual contact to donate blood due to the risk of HIV, despite all blood being tested after donation and despite the universality of HIV. Transgender individuals have recently suffered the whiplash of losing and then regaining their protection in health care, leaving them to fear it can be taken away again.
And this doesn’t even begin to touch on the discrimination from chronic illnesses, disabilities, and mental health. Considering all of this, it’s disheartening but unsurprising that a recent study found that 1 out of 5 people have been discriminated against in some way while seeking healthcare. So it is vital that we stop and examine the work we have been doing in creating healthcare technology. Are we working to combat this rampant problem, or are we just adding to it?
Join us for this week’s #HITsm chat where we’ll discuss the following questions and topics.
Topics for this week’s #HITsm Chat:
T1: Have you ever faced discrimination in healthcare? Either personally, to someone you know, or have you seen it while working in this field? #HITsm
T2: Healthcare has gotten exceedingly expensive in the US. How do you strike a balance between the need to make a profit and having your service be affordable for everyone? #HITsm
T3: Given how pervasive discrimination is in the health care system, is it better to try to weed it out or start a new system? #HITsm
T4: Are there unconscious biases and prejudices built into the programming of healthcare technology? #HITsm
T5: On the other hand, are there areas that technology has fixed or at least decreased discrimination in healthcare? #HITsm
Bonus: What ideas do you have that can help improve equality in healthcare? #HITsm
Upcoming #HITsm Chat Schedule
12/10 – Healthcare IT Holiday Wish List
Hosted by @Bossoft
12/17 – TBD
Hosted by Maram Museitif (@MaramMPH)
12/24 – Off for the Holidays
12/31 – Off for the Holidays
1/7 – Digital Empathy
Hosted by Sarah Krüg (@sarahkrug1) and Matt Sakumoto (@MattSakumoto)
We look forward to learning from the #HITsm community! As always, let us know if you’d like to host a future #HITsm chat or if you know someone you think we should invite to host.
If you’re searching for the latest #HITsm chat, you can always find the latest #HITsm chat and schedule of chats here.
