Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Race, gender, sexual orientation, age, body size, income, and other cultural factors have a significant bearing on whether you will be diagnosed and treated correctly. As America takes a hard look at our history of systematic biases, prejudice in medical care can no longer be overlooked. The good news is regardless of whether you are a patient, healthcare provider, or administrator, there are steps you can take today to combat medical bias.
The first and only book on this subject written by a primary care doctor who is an African American woman of color, DISMISSED: Tackling the Biases That Undermine our Health Care candidly talks about all forms of bias – those related to race and ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation, age, disabilities, obesity, and the increasing bias against science – instructing patients, doctors, and administrators alike on how we can all identify bias – and how we can all do better.
Filled with personal and patient stories and an insightful perspective backed by research (including the authors’ own survey), DISMISSED looks at the issue from both patients’ and health-care providers’ perspectives as well as the societal influences that have caused inequities in health care. Dr. Marshall paints a picture of a healthcare system gone wrong with responsibility falling on insurance companies, government, practitioners, medical schools and even the patients themselves.
A frequent contributing health expert on CNN, Fox News, PBS NewsHour, and OWN, Dr. Angela Marshall is an in-demand speaker, award-winning businesswoman, and founder of Comprehensive Women’s Health, Inc., one of the only primary care practices in the U.S. dedicated to the health of women. Having treated more than 40,000 women, Dr. Marshall has earned “Top Doctor” designation by Washingtonian Magazine every year since 2014. She has served on U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood’s panel on maternal health; helped women’s health leaders from Africa through the State Department’s International Visitor’s Program; and met with journalists from the NABJ Media Institute on Education and Health to promote better coverage of issues facing African American women. She has appeared on several panels for the WPO an international peer advisory organization of women CEOs whose total aggregate represents $26 billion in annual revenues and 153,000 employees. For more information, visit: www.AngelaMarshallMD.com.
