Opinion
Video
Promoting Equitable Patient Care: A Call for Self-Reflection and Awareness Among Providers
Joseph M. Coney, MD, FACS, underscores the importance of self-reflection to address implicit bias, avoid microaggressions, and foster open communication as key to reducing disparities in health care.
Joseph M. Coney, MD, FACS: I think I have some of the smartest, brightest, and most talented colleagues in medicine, particularly among my retina colleagues. I believe they represent the best of the best when it comes to taking care of patients. My advice to them is to always to approach their decision-making by putting themselves in the patient’s shoes and making choices to the best of their knowledge. How would I treat myself? How would I treat my mom or my dad? [If every single patient is approached with this perspective], it will lead to making the right decisions. We’ll pick the right medications, we’ll do the right ancillary tests, we’ll do the right follow-up. We’ll do the best things that we can for our patients.
We cannot [selectively favor some patients over others]…. but we should maintain a standard of care and treat everyone the same way. If not, that [contributes] to health care disparities. We are at a juncture in our lives where disparities need to be addressed,…where the communities that don’t necessarily look like the standard institutions are changing. By 2050, 50% of Americans will be [from] a racial minority group. The more we can [address] these things now, the more comfortable [we’ll be] with our implicit bias. Dealing with our own selves is important. But the best thing I can say is, retrospectively, take a look at the way you treat people.
Another thing to be aware of is microaggressions. Microaggressions are things that we say that we may not mean to be offensive, and so we have to be aware of how we talk to people, how to talk to certain people, and how certain words may come out or certain gestures may come out. We need to be aware of what happens in the community. I think that’s 1 reason why patients feel more comfortable talking to people that look like them. They open up more; they talk about depression in their clinics; [but] they may not be comfortable talking about some of the other elements that may be more personal in their lives. Personally, I look at depression as an independent risk factor for diabetic macular edema. If you’re depressed and you have other medical problems, you’re not taking care of yourself. You don’t have the will to do it. But they will have this discussion with you if they feel more comfortable with you. These are some of the things I [encourage] my colleagues to do—be aware of how you present yourself, be a pillar of active listening, [be] a pillar of communication, and try to treat everyone the way you would want to be treated.
This transcript is AI generated and reviewed by an AJMC® editor.
