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A review by jane_henningsen
Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care by Dayna Bowen Matthew
5.0
I picked this up because I wanted to understand racial healthcare inequities, both as a healthcare consultant and a human. I expected this to be a dive into social determinants of health, but it was actually an exploration of the impact of implicit bias throughout the healthcare system. Definitely a valuable read.
Just Medicine explores bias in both sides of the provider-patient relationship and the harm that unfolds when that bias goes unchecked. There are difficult stories in here- providers who chose not to prescribe effective treatments because they doubted patients were capable of adhering to treatment protocols or paying for medications, women with tumors whose pain was initially dismissed by their providers, etc.
On a more subtle level, Matthew explores communication styles and the importance of a collaborative physician/patient relationship in which a patient feels that he or she is a partner in care decisions. White patients with white providers are the most likely feel that they are partners in their own care, Black or Latinx patients with white providers less so. Cultural and language barriers add an additional disconnect for many immigrant patients. This matters - providers who do not fully engage with their patients may miss important information, and patients who feel disconnected from or judged by their providers are less likely to return for crucial follow-up care. It's a tangled web.
Matthew's solutions are legal and policy solutions, which are not my wheelhouse as a healthcare strategy & performance person. I was out of my depth there, but I still picked up valuable knowledge. I would recommend Just Medicine to any healthcare friends on Goodreads!
Just Medicine explores bias in both sides of the provider-patient relationship and the harm that unfolds when that bias goes unchecked. There are difficult stories in here- providers who chose not to prescribe effective treatments because they doubted patients were capable of adhering to treatment protocols or paying for medications, women with tumors whose pain was initially dismissed by their providers, etc.
On a more subtle level, Matthew explores communication styles and the importance of a collaborative physician/patient relationship in which a patient feels that he or she is a partner in care decisions. White patients with white providers are the most likely feel that they are partners in their own care, Black or Latinx patients with white providers less so. Cultural and language barriers add an additional disconnect for many immigrant patients. This matters - providers who do not fully engage with their patients may miss important information, and patients who feel disconnected from or judged by their providers are less likely to return for crucial follow-up care. It's a tangled web.
Matthew's solutions are legal and policy solutions, which are not my wheelhouse as a healthcare strategy & performance person. I was out of my depth there, but I still picked up valuable knowledge. I would recommend Just Medicine to any healthcare friends on Goodreads!