Recently, late night talk show hosts and other celebrities have teamed up to draw attention to a significant issue plaguing United States medical care – bias in medical treatment. Highlighting this crucial issue is a step in the right direction in stemming preventable medical errors.
According to reports, substantial biases exist when it comes to treating and diagnosing women, which is heightened when it comes to caring for women of color.
For example, doctors are seven times more likely to misdiagnose women who are having a heart attack than men. Further, misdiagnoses against people of color accounted for 83,000 preventable deaths. Additionally, as has been reported by numerous sources, the United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world. The rate is even higher against black women. Studies have found that doctors and nurses don’t take women, especially black women, seriously when they complain of pain or symptoms of illnesses.
Unfortunately, addressing this systemic problem isn’t easy, but shining the light on biases and providing bias training is a start. It is also crucial for individual patients to be aware of biases and the necessity to advocate for yourself.
With misdiagnoses one of the top sources of medical malpractice, working to eliminate barriers to proper care is important to reduce the harm caused by medical negligence.
For more information or if you or a loved one has been harmed by a preventable medical error, please contact the dedicated Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.