Race and health care

[JQPublic1]

HEALTHCARE AND RACE!

In 1999 a study concluded that every year about 98,000 people die from medical errors during hospital stays. Many more were seriously injured or even maimed. Today that figure has more than doubled:

Now comes a study in the current issue of the Journal of Patient Safety that says the numbers may be much higher — between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year who go to the hospital for care suffer some type of preventable harm that contributes to their death. That would make medical errors the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease, which is the first, and cancer, which is second.

How Many Die From Medical Mistakes In U.S. Hospitals? : Shots - Health News : NPR

While these dire statistics are depressing to ponder, an alarming question arises: Is there a racial component to these preventable errors? Several comprehensive studies show there is. Although White people should be concerned, there is genuine cause for Black and Hispanic communities to be even more particular in deciding their healthcare options; if they have any choice at all!
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We are inundated with negative statistics and media driven prejudices that engender social consequences that reach into the Emergency Room and every medical enclave. Sidney D, Watson underlines his views on the topic in his book: Race, Ethnicity and Quality of Care: Inequalities and Incentives, 27 American Journal of Law and Medicine 203-221, 205-210 (2001)

In America, race is not just a skin color, and ethnicity is not just culture. Race and ethnicity are social categories that reflect differential access to power and social resources. Throughout American history, law and custom have relegated minority groups to different and inferior treatment. Medical care is no exception. Understanding racial disparities in medical care requires an appreciation of the history of racism, segregation and civil rights in medicine. Today's health care is rooted in the past.

While the mindboggling figures are appalling in any human context, more must be done to reveal just how many Blacks, Hispanics and women and gay White males are dying due to medical error as compared to mainstream heterosexual White males. The data I’ve uncovered seems to justify my suspicions that widespread disparities in healthcare treatment and procedure by race is rampant.

I am starting to wonder if this phenomenon is becoming a cover for genocide in some areas of the country. Your comments are welcome!

 

[JQPublic1]

Obviously, this is one issue that no one wants to address. Will you keep hiding your heads in the sand...until its too late...

 

[Asclepias]

I know part of it is of course due to economic disparity but you cannot turn your head away from the facts. it may not be a coordinated attempt at genocide but i believe some are doing their part to reduce the numbers of "unwanteds"

 

[JQPublic1]

I know part of it is of course due to economic disparity but you cannot turn your head away from the facts. it may not be a coordinated attempt at genocide but i believe some are doing their part to reduce the numbers of "unwanteds"

I know part of it is of course due to economic disparity but you cannot turn your head away from the facts. it may not be a coordinated attempt at genocide but i believe some are doing their part to reduce the numbers of "unwanteds"

Thanks for the response, Asclepias. I was beginning to wonder if all the friendlies had deserted me. Perhaps this “Pro-Life” topic has no appeal to those who yell so loudly in support of it. But it seems those on the left are just as blasé regarding this issue.

It is a national tragedy for between 200,000 and 400,000 people a year to die unnecessarily in the medical system. But the added burden of those errors are placed squarely on the shoulders of minorities. With study after study showing demonstrable racial bias in the treatment of patients nationwide, the eerie silence and lack of information on this frightening dilemma is alarming. Where is the voice of Louis Farrakhan? When will Al Sharpton address this issue on his show, “Politics Nation?” Why isn’t the NAACP calling for watchdog agencies to keep track of medical errors by race, sex or sexual orientation? The media is quick to throw statistics in our faces when it comes to Black crime; but, those figures don’t even begin to approach the staggering number of people who die each year due to medical error.

Are most of those victims White? I don’t know… Those details are hard to find!
Perhaps those who collect the numbers for data don’t want us to know how many minorities, women and gay folk are victims of “medical error.” Statistics that show Blacks and Hispanics in a bad light are far more popular than those showing pervasive institutional bias. As long as Blacks and Hispanics are getting the worst treatment, mainstreamers on the right or the left won’t be too concerned.

Are these really “medical errors” or is this, as you say, a strategy to reduce the numbers of unwanteds? I believe the majority of these deadly errors may be unintentional, especially those involving White victims. However, when such errors involve minorities who studies have shown in many cases to receive poorer treatment, a historical component emerges that cannot be ignored. Past prejudices emanating from the days of slavery and Jim Crow have left an indelible imprint on many White medical practitioners. People may not even be aware of it but subliminal messages of Black inferiority and White supremacy have taken a toll. How else would you explain the conclusions arrived at in several studies showing bias in the treatment of patients by race, nationally?

 

[Asclepias]

I have some sources that show the historical aspect that i am going to take a look at tomorrow. I know there was a hospital in LA that Black people were actually afraid to go to even if they were in danger of dying their track record was so bad. I have never heard much of it publicized and heard more just by way of mouth.

 

[Politico]

Obviously, this is one issue that no one wants to address. Will you keep hiding your heads in the sand...until its too late...

What's to address? People are dying in hospitals. It's not a race issue.

 

[S.J.]

Does everything have to be about race with you people?

 

[blastoff]

Stick your race cards.

 

[Asclepias]

Obviously, this is one issue that no one wants to address. Will you keep hiding your heads in the sand...until its too late...

What's to address? People are dying in hospitals. It's not a race issue.

Unfortunately the numbers say differently.

 

[Asclepias]

Does everything have to be about race with you people?

Pretty much in a racial caste system that topic will usually dominate the conversation. True men/women address issues head on. Weak minded individuals and the culprits avoid it at all costs.

 

[S.J.]

Does everything have to be about race with you people?

Pretty much in a racial caste system that topic will usually dominate the conversation. True men/women address issues head on. Weak minded individuals and the culprits avoid it at all costs.

 

[Asclepias]

Does everything have to be about race with you people?

Pretty much in a racial caste system that topic will usually dominate the conversation. True men/women address issues head on. Weak minded individuals and the culprits avoid it at all costs.

Race Gap Seen in Health Care Of Equally Insured Patients - NYTimes.com

Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States receive lower quality health care than whites, even when their insurance and income are the same, say a panel of scientific experts who termed their study a wake-up call to the nation's doctors.

'Some of us on the committee were surprised and shocked at the extent of the evidence,'' said the chairman of the panel, Dr. Alan R. Nelson, a former president of the American Medical Association. He added, ''The evidence is overwhelming.''

 

[S.J.]

Pretty much in a racial caste system that topic will usually dominate the conversation. True men/women address issues head on. Weak minded individuals and the culprits avoid it at all costs.

Race Gap Seen in Health Care Of Equally Insured Patients - NYTimes.com

Racial and ethnic minorities in the United States receive lower quality health care than whites, even when their insurance and income are the same, say a panel of scientific experts who termed their study a wake-up call to the nation's doctors.

'Some of us on the committee were surprised and shocked at the extent of the evidence,'' said the chairman of the panel, Dr. Alan R. Nelson, a former president of the American Medical Association. He added, ''The evidence is overwhelming.''

Looks like doctors don't like you either.

 

[Asclepias]

Race Gap Seen in Health Care Of Equally Insured Patients - NYTimes.com

'Some of us on the committee were surprised and shocked at the extent of the evidence,'' said the chairman of the panel, Dr. Alan R. Nelson, a former president of the American Medical Association. He added, ''The evidence is overwhelming.''

Looks like doctors don't like you either.

Only the hairy pale ones it seems. Thats why my doctors are always Black women. We need more doctors of color.

 

[S.J.]

Race Gap Seen in Health Care Of Equally Insured Patients - NYTimes.com

Looks like doctors don't like you either.

Only the hairy pale ones it seems. Thats why my doctors are always Black women. We need more doctors of color.

That's probably why you're sick all the time.

 

[Asclepias]

Looks like doctors don't like you either.

Only the hairy pale ones it seems. Thats why my doctors are always Black women. We need more doctors of color.

That's probably why you're sick all the time.

I cant remember the last time I've been sick but nice try. Whites are the ones with the genetic diseases and osteoporosis.

 

[S.J.]

Only the hairy pale ones it seems. Thats why my doctors are always Black women. We need more doctors of color.

That's probably why you're sick all the time.

I cant remember the last time I've been sick but nice try. Whites are the ones with the genetic diseases and osteoporosis.

Then what are you whining about?

 

[Asclepias]

That's probably why you're sick all the time.

I cant remember the last time I've been sick but nice try. Whites are the ones with the genetic diseases and osteoporosis.

Then what are you whining about?

The health and treatment of other Black people that dont have Black doctors?

 

[S.J.]

I cant remember the last time I've been sick but nice try. Whites are the ones with the genetic diseases and osteoporosis.

Then what are you whining about?

The health and treatment of other Black people that dont have Black doctors?

You mean black people get sick too? Make up your mind.

 

[Asclepias]

Then what are you whining about?

The health and treatment of other Black people that dont have Black doctors?

You mean black people get sick too? Make up your mind.

I said I had not been sick. Did I confuse you? If so read the OP to get you back on track.