Radio Health Journal episode featuring Dr. McKee discusses systemic racism’s effect on low-quality healthcare

Systemic racism exists in healthcare. One such example is a 2016 University of Virginia School of Medicine study that found that some white medical students believed black patients felt less pain than white patients.

Radio Health Journal interviewed Dr. Ana Pujols McKee, Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer, The Joint Commission, about how systemic racism plays a role in the undertreatment of people of color during an episode titled, “How Systemic Racism Feeds Into Low Quality Health Care.”

“This experience is not limited to black people, but to all people of color – and also to the LGBTQ+ community – [of] a feeling that they are being unfairly treated,” Dr. McKee said.

While she noted that some people of color believe they are being treated fairly and respectfully, “for some, the experience is far from that.”

“It is complicated because these are subtle micro-aggressions that are very difficult to document,” she said. “But we know that when you add that to the bias and the institutional racism that exists, the outcomes could be quite detrimental.”

Also interviewed in the episode is author Taylor Harris, who wonders if her son’s medical condition and challenges would have been approached differently had he been white.

While Dr. Pujols McKee believes education is the primary tool and solution for curing systemic racism, she has not seen a large push from the industry to tackle the topic.

“My goal is for healthcare leaders to see disparities as the quality and patient safety concerns that they are, and that those disparate gaps are treated in the same way that any other adverse event or negative outcome would be treated in the organization,” she said.

Listen to the Radio Health Journal episode.