This Is Why Some Patients Aren't Taken Seriously - And It's More Common Than You Think 🤯🤯🤯

Family First ER

When you go to a doctor’s office or the emergency room, there is typically a good reason-there is a problem, and you want to get it fixed. While some people have the luxury of being believed and receiving quality care, many do not. There are many possible reasons for this, but for the most part, it all comes down to implicit bias.

Wikipedia

According to the APA, implicit bias "is a negative attitude, of which one is not consciously aware, against a specific social group".

HRProfessionalsMagazine

One well-known implicit bias is against Black patients. According to Andrea M. Hayes, there was a study done that showed that Black patients' pain is underestimated by physicians 47% more than White patients.

UChicago News

There are also studies that show that minority patients receive less effective pain management. The thought process behind this is that providers may hold false beliefs about biological differences, which affect a patient’s care.

Loma Linda University Health

According to one source, women experience chronic conditions differently from men. Seeing as most medical studies are focused on men and not women, there is not a lot of research into how to care for women. Because there is not as much research, there is not much that can be put into practice for women’s healthcare. While this source mainly focuses on chronic conditions, the information unfortunately goes beyond that and into general women’s healthcare.

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There is also the fact that many providers doubt or even dismiss patients’ complaints. This, unfortunately, happens a lot with women. There is the idea of “if you were actually in that much pain, you wouldn’t be able to do anything”. The whole “just deal with it” and “grin and bear it” mindset society has toward period pain not only hurts women on a day-to-day basis, but is exactly why doctors dismiss their pain complaints in medical settings.

MedlinePlus

Another implicit bias is ageism. This bias is a double-edged sword that works in two directions – young and old.

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I personally face the “young” side of the sword. Many may look at me and assume that I am fine because I look ‘fine’. Every single doctor appointment I go to, I am faced with the thoughts of ‘Will they take me seriously?’ and ‘Will they do their best ACTUALLY to help me?’. I have been told “you’ll grow out of it” and “you’re too young to have all these problems”, among many other dismissive comments.

emergencyphysicians.org

On the flip side, there are the biases against older people as well. One source says that as adults age, their medical risks and needs tend to increase. Though their time in a medical setting increases, the level of healthcare they receive decreases. There are many reasons for this, but a main one is providers making unconscious assumptions about their older patients.

Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News

They may think that the patient is simply exaggerating their symptoms. 

Another assumption is that the patient does not have any real medical issues but is simply experiencing “normal ageing”. 

There is also the thought process that older patients are less capable of understanding, participating, or directing their care, and that they need a next of kin for every decision.

Sage Advocacy

Unfortunately, these are not the only implicit biases that affect medical care. While these are some of the most commonly seen, there are countless others, including gender identity bias, weight bias, mental health bias, and more.

MedicalNewsToday

Implicit biases in healthcare may not be intentional, but they can have lasting effects on patients. 

For one, they create power imbalances and support making assumptions about people.

They shape the entire patient-provider interaction.

They affect clinical judgement and decision-making.

They damage trust between patient and provider, which further decreases the quality and access to care

They can lower patients’ self-esteem and mental health

They delay treatment for patients

They lower the likelihood of a patient being believed. 

They can make a patient feel less than.

Some may say that it is the individual behavior of the provider, but that’s not true. It is more than one person – it is a system-wide issue. 

Harvard Medical School

Whether it is immediately evident or not, it is there. 

Whether it is easily seen or ‘just the small things’, it is there.

Our system needs to do better. The question is–where do we start?

One source, ihi.org, suggests several strategies, such as seeing the person as an individual and not a stereotype, putting yourself in the person’s shoes, increasing opportunities for learning and inclusion, and more.

I think that all of these strategies are amazing, but I think a good starting point should be recognizing when you are approaching something with an implicit bias and adjusting.

I understand that, with society today, breaking the cycle of implicit biases may not be the easiest, but it is important to be aware. Take ownership when you follow an implicit bias. Acknowledge the mistake, apologize, correct, and be conscious of not repeating it in the future. Make others aware when they are following an implicit bias.

Do not simply brush past it and move on.

Make a point to take a stand.