Blog #4: Do Doctors Judge Patients Based on their Color and Ethnicity?

After reading the article titled, “Does your doctor judge you based on your color?” written by Elizabeth Cohen, I questioned myself and wondered if physicians and health care professionals judge their patients based on their color or ethnicity. The story starts with John Reid, a retired African-American businessman going to the emergency room in New York City because he had an infected toe. He claimed that the doctor’s immediate solution was to order an instant amputation. They even explained to Reid that they were going to be able to schedule him for an immediate surgery right then and there.

Of course, Reid did the smart thing to get a second opinion from another senior doctor who simply “prescribed a long-term regimen of intravenous antibiotics and physical therapy” (Cohen, 2009). Despite the fact that this treatment was a lot more expensive and a lot of more time consuming, in the end, it did indeed save him from having to amputate his entire toe.

With this particular case, it makes patients wonder if an individual gets treated differently based on their color or perhaps the language that they speak, or where they are from. Professionals at times take advantage of a patient’s ignorance on the field of health care and choose to disrespect one because they are considered a minority. It can be said that health care professionals sometimes assume that minorities cannot make a competent medical decision on their own. Studies do now indicate that white and black patients are treated differently not just in the health care facility, but in everywhere else. Throughout the decades, many aspects in regards to race and ethnicity have changed. Nevertheless, there is still much more to come.

In 2005, studies indicate that “African-American cardiac patients were less likely than whites to receive a lifesaving procedure called revascularization, where doctors restore the flow of oxygen to the heart,” (Cohen, 2009). This is just one out of the many different case studies that have been conducted in regards to racial profiling. The most unfortunate part remains on the fact that the quality of care of such patients is to a certain extent limited. Racism and stereotype is a very common experience that patient’s with different races and ethnicity feel. All there is to do at the moment is to tell such individuals to go seek health care services with another doctor… a doctor that does not discriminate nor stereotype.

• Reference
• Cohen, Elizabeth. "Does your doctor judge you based on your color? - CNN.com." CNN.com. 26 July 2009. Web. 28 July 2009.

Blog #3: Patient's Perspective

To begin, I would like to take the opportunity to define adverse event as the following, “an injury caused by medical management rather than the underlying condition of the patient” (Kohn et al., -----). I do believe that the perspective of the patient is the most important determinantas to whether an adverse event has occurred. It can be said that at times, an adverse event may not have occurred; nevertheless, as health care practitioners abide by the law of ‘duty to care’, it is important for them to acknowledge the current situation. The term ‘adverse event’ in itself is stating that a condition has been brought upon that is out of the reach of the patient. In other words, the error derived from the health care organization. To prevent lawsuits and liabilities and to satisfy legal criteria, a patient’s perspective must be considered an important determinantas to determine whether or not an adverse event has truly occurred. If health care organizations choose to refuse a patient treatment or refuse to prioritize such an event, then it falls upon the facility/hospital that has failed to provide and to meet a reasonable standard of care for the patient in question.

As a health care professional, the patient’s point of view is extremely important. Without the patient’s opinion and information based on how they currently feel, a proper medical diagnosis cannot necessarily be provided. Personally, I believe that regardless of how big or how small an issue truly is, the patient always comes first and they should be treated, or at least stabilized. Working at the Community Living Center at the Orlando VA Medical Center, often times we see patients who fear to acknowledge a problem that has occurred or something that they are currently feeling. In reality, I believe that patients should share their perspective when an adverse event has occurred. After all, they are the ones who have truly been affected. If health care physicians and medical personnel have committed an error, whether by carelessness or mistake, I personally believe that they should seek a solution to the adverse event and realize what the problem is. If not, this act of negligence will indeed repeat itself.

I try to think about this particular situation this way… imagine someone dialing 9-1-1. Now imagine them not being acknowledged because the representative on the other line ‘believes’ or ‘assumes’ that it is truly not an emergency. If the issue is put to the side, regardless of whether there is truly an emergency or not, something has to be done. This is just to avoid bigger issues and to take the proper precautionary actions to prevent an adverse event in the near future. In the end, the primary goal of any health care organization is to ensure the patient’s safety. Therefore, it can be said that the perspective of a patient is essential to ensure the quality of care provided by physicians and medical personnel.

• References
• Kohn, L. T., Corringan, J., Donaldson, M. S., & Institute of Medicine (U.S.) Committee on Quality of Health Care In America. (2000). To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. New York: National Academies P.