Medical Racism?-By Wolf Blitzer (CNN)

by Mister Biggs 8 Replies latest watchtower medical

Mister Biggs

By Wolf Blitzer
CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- I was fascinated this week by a new study just released by the Institute of Medicine that shows African Americans do not get the same quality health care as whites. That, by itself, was not surprising since I had always assumed that was a result in large part of economics. Black Americans, by and large, don't make as much money as white Americans. What was surprising was that the report concluded money -- by itself -- was not the reason for the disparity. "We looked at the evidence," Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of Emory University's Medical School and one of the authors of the report told me." And it showed overwhelmingly that disparities in health care exist, and even when the insurance status, the income, the age, and the severity of the disease is the same."
That raises the obvious question: Is it a result of racism?
Dr. Fryhofer, a former president of the American College of Physicians, says there are multiple reasons behind this sad fact. Race, she acknowledges, is one factor. "I wish we could say it was just one thing, but there are probably some racial undertones here that are probably unconscious." She says there's some "unconscious stereotyping and prejudice going on, things that people didn't even realize that they are doing."
The results for African Americans and other minorities can be disastrous. The study shows that blacks receive lower quality care across the board and suffer higher death rates from HIV/AIDS, cancer, and heart disease. It also found blacks with advanced prostrate cancer are referred for surgical castration twice as often as whites.
Dr. Fryhofer noted that the same was the case with African-Americans with diabetes. "They were almost four times more likely to have an amputation," she said. "And they were also less likely to receive a transplant and less likely to be put on dialysis."
She continued: "When minority patients went to the emergency room, they were one and a half times more likely not to be given authorization to be seen as compared to white patients."
"So this is a wakeup call to America, a wakeup call to health professionals, to everyone in the health care field that we have got to look within ourselves," she said. "We got to even the playing field so everyone gets the kind of health care that they deserve...We shouldn't argue about whether or not the disparities exist. The evidence shows that they do."
The doctors and researchers involved in the study say they hope the immediate benefit from their work will be an increased awareness of the problem, especially within the minority communities. Let's hope that they are right.
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/wolf.blitzer.reports/index.html
LDH

Agreeing that there is racism in medical care, but there is just as much if not more SEXISM.
Doctors are very quick to advocate removal of a woman's reproductive system but they'll do anything in their power to save "deeez nuts." LOL. There have been books written on the subject, as well.
However I did take issue with some things in the article: which stated that African Americans in general don't get the same quaility care.
One of the biggest issues here is NON-Compliance, and a full-understanding of doctor's orders, and no one even mentioned it.
Let's say you have two patients with heart disease--you tell them a strict LOW FAT LOW SODIUM diet will save their life.
To the white college educated guy, that means chicken breasts and fish fillets.
To the black raised in the hood guy that means don't put hot sauce on your pork rinds.
(YES I KNOW not all whites are college educated not all blacks are born in the hood. It's an EXAMPLE people)
THAT is not a racist remark just an acknowledgment that different cultures ascribe different meanings to the same words based on their life experiences.
In the above scenario, the only thing that would work would be for the doctor to give each patient a particular eating plan and/or refer them to a nutritionist for regular dietary monitoring.
As far as this statement:
She continued: "When minority patients went to the emergency room, they were one and a half times more likely not to be given authorization to be seen as compared to white patients."
You'd need to look at the bigger picture which is that minorities are more likely to be uninsured meaning that when they are ill or injured they HAVEgo to the ER instead of their Family Doctor. ERs do NOT keep comprehensive medical records on file--they take a brief history and physical. Therefore, they are NOT going to be getting authorization for necessary procedures because there is no comprehensive paper trail documenting their medical history.
If the patient is on Medicaid or Medical, the quality of their health care is immediately suspect, IMHO.
I've consulted for several Doctors on reimbursement rates. How would you like to be an OB-GYN seeing a woman for a complex medical problem, 40 minute visit?
Insurance reimburses the doctor $250 for that visit, medicaid reimburses him/her $14 for the same visit . NOW if you were a doctor, who would you make an effor to spend more time with?
It's not a matter of a doctor being greedy IN MOST CASES. With one doctor having to pay overhead, insurance, staff, etc, $14 for a forty minute visit doesn't pay for the cost of the paper your visit is written on.
Sorry to rant but I spent YEARS in the insurance/medical industry and I think the problem here is bigger than racism.
Lisa
Running for Cover Class
freddi

There is definetely medical racism going on all over the world. Not just here. And for anyone to assume that this is not so or for anyone to say that they are all of a sudden amazed that this could be possible, I say, "Wake up a smell the coffee."
Many doctors don't want to accept medicaid but let a new immigrant from Russia and a Black person go to a doctor and see who will get the care and who will be turned away. This is a true fact that I have seen first hand.
Hospitals in the inner city are closed down and certain services are not available in black and latino neighborhoods simply because some higher ups don't think that non-whites should get the same medical treatment. Wake up and smell the coffee!!!!!!!
Now I suppose that all of the folks with reppressed cognetive memories will get on my case and say that I am wrong but I am speaking as a black woman who is not from the hood and who refuses to be called a "Minority".
Peace,
Freddi
flower

I agree that there is both racism and sexism in medical care but I think educating oneself about any ailment you have can give you the advantage and can help prevent you from becoming one of the victims of either form of discrimination.
Obviously, its hard to control the situation in emergencies but with longer term treatments an educated patient is a much better treated patient in my opinion.
I never go into a doctors office for treatment without a list of questions written out or at least committed to memory.
When I had surgery I asked my surgeon questions like how many surgerys like this one they had performed during the year and what percentage of them were on african american women and if she was aware that african american women heal and scar differently after surgery than other races. i am convinced that questions like that led her to be more careful when stitching and as a result i have very thin scars compared to many of the pictures i saw.
flower
Mister Biggs

I don't know if race had anything to do with it, but in Philly this past Wednesday (maybe Tuesday) a young black male (about 1 or 2) became ill. 911 was called. The paramedics showed up. It is alleged by the parents that the EMT's suggested that the parents take the kid to the hospital themselves because it would save them $350.00 (Yes, in Philly there is a charge for ambulance transport).
The parents ended up taking him to the clinic and he died shortly thereafter.
Here's the whole story:
Sources: Paramedics deny guilt in death
Pair allegedly tells probers that parents opted to take baby to clinic on their own
By KITTY CAPARELLA
[email protected]
DAVID MAIALETTI / DAILY NEWS

MEDICS TOOK vital signs of 1-year-old Marcus Dunson Tuesday morning and were ready to transport him to the hospital, but his parents decided to take the baby to a nearby clinic, two Fire Department medics told authorities yesterday, sources said.
Marcus died three hours later, after a 90-minute wait at a nearby clinic, an emergency ride to the hospital and a 27-minute attempt to save his life at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"They're lying," Shelly Shaw, the child's aunt, said yesterday of paramedics, after talking with the baby's father, her brother, Martin Luther Dunson, 31, last night. "They didn't take a pulse. They didn't do anything for his son. They're trying to cover up for what they created.
"They [the Dunsons] were told to go to the clinic," she added. "They never touched my nephew; they never looked at my nephew. If they did, they would have seen he was dehydrated.
"We called 911, expecting help."
Two divergent views of Marcus' last hours emerged yesterday, one day after family members alleged that city medics had advised the child's parents to drive their son to a clinic to save the $350 transport fee.
The Police Department's homicide unit and the Fire Department are jointly investigating the "suspicious death."
Jeff Moran, spokesman for the medical examiner's office, said additional tests were under way after an autopsy on the child yesterday proved inconclusive. It could be a few weeks before the exact cause of death is known.
The two medics, a male and a female with a combined experience of seven years, have been taken off the street during the investigation, said Michael Lauder, of the Firefighters Union Local 22.
"It's horrible and sad. The two [medics] are heartbroken over the situation," he added.
A relative of the baby said yesterday that a doctor at Children's Hospital told the family that the baby had a collapsed lung and an infection.
Asked if the family would sue the city, another relative, Dunson's sister-in-law Karen Riggs, replied: "Most definitely."
"We're in touch with attorneys," she said, after learning two attorneys were ready to have a conference call with the family.
But the family wanted to wait until after the funeral, set for 9 a.m. Monday at Terry's Funeral Home at 4203 Haverford Ave., a relative said. The family chose a platinum-colored coffin with a blue lining for Marcus.
Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston, Mayor Street and Managing Director Estelle Richman would not comment on the case.
However, sources close to the investigation told the Daily News yesterday that upon arrival at the couple's Mantua home shortly at 10:24 a.m. Tuesday, the medics were told that the baby had been sick for two days. The child's mother, Lisa Dunson, 34, said she had given him Tylenol and informed medics that the baby's fever had broken.
When a medic put his hand on the baby to check his temperature and take his pulse, the baby had a "normal pulse and respiration," one source said. "He was sucking on a pacifier."
Another source said that medics were not equipped with thermometers. "They go by touch," the source said.
The child was being dressed to be taken to the hospital by the medics, according to two sources.
A medic asked if the parents had spoken to their family doctor. The mother said no, a source said. The father wanted to take the baby to the emergency room.
The parents discussed whether to go to the emergency room or to the clinic, and decided to go to the clinic, the medics told authorities. The medic asked if they had a car, the source added.
The Dunson family disputes the medics' account, saying that they had been told to take the child to the clinic and that they would save the $350 fee charged.
But a source close to the probe said that medics insisted the fee had never been raised as a prerequisite for transport.
Another source said that the city asks medics to routinely obtain the Social Security number and insurance data for billing purposes.
The parents then took the baby to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Healthcare, called PCOM, on Lancaster Avenue near Aspen Street, where they waited 90 minutes.
A PCOM spokeswoman said a pediatrician saw the child and called 911 for transportation to Children's Hospital. "We are saddened by his death," the PCOM spokeswoman added.
Medic 26 was dispatched at 12:41 p.m. and arrived at the clinic four minutes later, said Homicide Capt. Thomas Lippo. At 1:08 p.m., Medic 26 arrived at Children's, where doctors tried to save the baby.
In the next 27 minutes as relatives arrived, a social worker twice reported to the family: The baby had a pulse and heart rate, and later, both had grown "faint," said Mia Sowers, Martin Dunson's sister, who works at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Doctors said the baby had "a collapsed lung and an infection," when he died, she added. The family asked for an autopsy, but doctors already planned to do one.
"They let us go in and kiss the baby goodbye. An [Episcopal] priest gave the baby last rites," Sowers added. "You couldn't tell he passed. He had a gorgeous, gorgeous smile. He didn't look like a sick baby."
Lisa wanted to take her baby home, and cried, "My baby, my baby!" when the lifeless child was pried from her arms, said Shelly Shaw.
"This was their last child. He was a bundle of joy to them," she added. He adored his brothers and sisters: Martin Jr. 13; Alisa, 10; Marlisa, 7, and Melissa, 3.
Only 12 days earlier - Marcus' first birthday - the baby played, laughed, pulled on relatives' hair and was taking his first steps, relatives said.
Capt. Lippo said that about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Lisa Dunson's sister came to the 16th police district and reported to Sgt. Walter King about the child's death.
Police Officer Robert Devlin was dispatched to the Dunson house at 40th and Brown, followed by Sgt. Scot Murphy. Devlin took a statement from Martin Dunson, prompting the police investigation.
At a press conference yesterday, Lippo said detectives had not interviewed the medics or the parents.
The Dunsons were high school sweethearts at University City High. He has worked at Crescent Iron Works at 49th and Grays Ferry since his 1985 graduation, while his wife is a homemaker who volunteers at Belmont Elementary School at 41st Street and Brown.
The distraught couple did not talk directly with the media.
"It's devastating," said Martin's sister Sylvia Dunson, 41.
"The doctor told Lisa that Marcus had a cold but 'let it run its course' last week," added Sylvia, who baby-sat the child last week. "That's all we thought it was, a little cold."
An official with the city firefighters union, which also represents city paramedics, had difficulty believing the family's claims.
"You're supposed to evaluate the child, take the pulse, blood pressure, all those things. It's hard for me to believe the medics didn't touch the baby. When something like this happens, people are always shifting blame. But the bottom line is, if my kid is that sick, I'd take him to the hospital."
LDH

Mr. Biggs,
That article makes me sick to my stomach! A poor little baby is dead for no reason!!!
And, oddly enough, the article proved every point I made previously.
For instance, Mr. Biggs states:
(Yes, in Philly there is a charge for ambulance transport).
While the fact is there is a charge for Ambulance transport EVERYWHERE, not just Philly.
Medical insurance covers the cost of the Ambulance transport, but if you don't have medical insurance then YOU WILL BE BILLED for the ride. And $350 is rather reasonable.
The article goes on to state:
A medic asked if the parents had spoken to their family doctor. The mother said no, a source said. The father wanted to take the baby to the emergency room.
I stated earlier that many times those with limited resources have no family doctor, and use the emergency room for a purpose other than that which was intended.
When a medic put his hand on the baby to check his temperature and take his pulse, the baby had a "normal pulse and respiration," one source said. "He was sucking on a pacifier."
In this situation, no insurance company would accept the claim or pay the charges.
Paramedics are in difficult situations, having to act as financial and medical advisor to many families. As proof the medics acted with concern toward the child I offer these quotes:
The child was being dressed to be taken to the hospital by the medics, according to two sources.
and
A medic asked if the parents had spoken to their family doctor.
The child's aunt, Shelly Shaw, stated that:
"They [the Dunsons] were told to go to the clinic," she added. "They never touched my nephew; they never looked at my nephew. If they did, they would have seen he was dehydrated.
If it was so obvious that the child was dehydrated, why did the parents act slowly in seeking treatment?
Why hadn't they called their family doctor?
The answer, my friends, has nothing to do with race and everything to do with economics. They didn't even have a car to transport that poor baby to the hospital.
As long as our society continues to allow the less fortunate to have less-than-adequate healthcare and access to quality healthcare, the longer innocents will pay the price.
FYI,if you have a baby one of the easiest ways to tell if that baby is dehydrated is if the fontanel (soft spot on top of baby's head) is sunken in. GET some liquids into that kid and call your doctor QUICK.
Lisa
LDH

PPS.
Mr. Biggs, if you hadn't told us there was no 'clue' in that article that the family involved was black.
That article would have been just as disgusting to me if the child were white, Asian, whatever.
Disgusting.
Lisa
Mister Biggs

I hear you, Lisa.
When you click on the link, there's a photo of the aunt. So, you would see that the kid was black (not to mention it's a pretty big story here locally).
I tied that story in for the simple fact that there may be racism involved.
I told my wife yesterday that for all we know the parents may have asked how much it would cost to have them transport the child to the hospital. When they heard the amount maybe the parents said, "I'm not paying that much money! I'll just take him to the clinic."
The article doesn't state what race(s) the EMT's were. So it may not even be a race issue. It may just be a sad case of miscommunication and/or misunderstanding. Hopefully, the investigation will lead to the guilty one(s).
LDH

OH! I didn't even see the link!
Also, you can ALWAYS count on some people to play the race/sex card, no matter the real issue, huh?
Lisa

Medical Racism?-By Wolf Blitzer (CNN)

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