Systemic racism: Discrimination needs to end

It is the job of healthcare providers to make patients feel supported, safe, and comfortable. Yet, in 2023, 22% of Black patients reported that they experienced discrimination while seeking treatment, and 9% of Black parents reported that their children were treated unfairly by healthcare providers. Everyone deserves access to the highest quality of healthcare, and the fact that race at all affects how people are treated in a medical setting is incredibly disturbing. It is especially awful that children are being mistreated. Early encounters and experiences with racism can be easily internalized in young individuals, and cause emotional damage and worsen mental health.

22% of Black patients reported that they experienced discrimination while seeking treatment in 2023. 9% of Black parents reported that their children were treated unfairly by healthcare providers.

Racism in healthcare is systemic. Even when economic factors are controlled, Black patients receive worse healthcare than White patients, purely because of prejudice from healthcare providers. Additionally, people of color die sooner and suffer from preventable diseases far more often than white Americans. This is immensely unfair, and systemic change needs to be enacted in order to fix this issue.

We need more intensive screening of healthcare workers. Physicians and providers should be monitored and checked periodically in order to ensure that they are making diagnoses and treating patients without bias. Additionally, we must increase diversity in the healthcare field, so as to take the extra measure to mitigate mistreatment. It is crucial that the people who hold the responsibility of saving lives are culturally competent and empathetic, and the comfort of the patients should be prioritized over all. 

Black patients should not have to walk into clinics wondering if they will be faced with microaggressions. They should not have to silence themselves because of fear that physicians will brush off their health concerns. They should not have to question whether or not healthcare providers will give them the most effective treatment possible or whether or not providers will do everything in their power to help them. The time to end discrimination in our hospitals and clinics is now. Healthcare is a fundamental human right, and so is equality.