CHICAGO — The American Medical Association today announced that by examining how health care institution policies and practices shape patients’ experiences of health, illness, and care, the American Medical Association will explore not only the interactions between physicians and patients, but also health care institutions. He called on medicine to address injustice and discrimination at the level as well. .
Members of the AMA’s House of Representatives voted to adopt guidelines to address systemic discrimination in health care, including the use of stigmatizing language and policies and practices that stand in the way of equitable health care.
“To make meaningful progress in delivering equitable care, physicians must recognize how the pathology of social systems impacts the lives of their patients,” said AMA Director David H. Eyes. the doctor said. Examine the prevailing attitudes, customs, policies and practices that determine who receives what kind of care, and take steps to remove or rebuild barriers that undermine the ability to ensure equitable care for all. There is an obligation to take “
According to newly adopted guidelines, doctors should:
- Develop self-awareness and strategies for change
- Recognize and avoid accusatory or demeaning language in face-to-face interactions and medical record entries
- We use social history to gather information about non-medical factors that influence patient health status and access to care, and to inform patient-patient relationships and the care they provide
- Support each other to create opportunities for critical thinking across the institution
- Identify institutional policies and practices that perpetuate equitable care or create barriers
- Participate in designing and supporting thoughtful change strategies to ensure equitable care for all
The guidelines also recommend that hospitals and other healthcare organizations:
- Identify and support institutional efforts to change institutional policies and practices that may perpetuate or create barriers to equitable care
- Engage stakeholders to understand the history of the communities they serve and to recognize local factors of inequality in medical and health care
- Identify opportunities, adopt strategies that exploit their position within the community, and minimize living conditions that contribute to poor health
“While neither individual physicians nor institutions can fully solve the problems of discrimination and inequality that underlie health disparities, they can and must accept responsibility for being agents of change. No,” Dr. Aisus said.
Through research, collaboration, advocacy and leadership, AMA supports system-level solutions and identifies the root causes of health inequalities while increasing their importance to patients, communities and stakeholders. I believe in dealing with it. In late May, the AMA and other partners Rise to Health Coalition It aims to bring individuals and organizations together to make health equity viable, working together to promote optimal health for all.
