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.
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.
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