The Health Disparities Podcast

A church with health at its heart.

New York pastor and community leader Rev. Dr. Franklyn Richardson discusses his ministry at the historic Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, New York. Putting health education at the heart of the church has been part of a long history of working for civil rights and social justice. Dr. Richardson discusses the challenges facing African American communities, the importance of self-advocacy, overcoming the digital divide, and recognizing the roles that race and bias play in health disparities. With Rolf Taylor.

Fellow humans, meet Professor Augustus White III, MD.

Increasing diversity and inclusion in the medical profession has made progress, not least because of leadership from orthopedic surgeon and Harvard Professor Augustus White. For many decades he has called for healthcare to be seen as a human right intrinsic to the pursuit of happiness. Dr. White was the first African American graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, and the first African American surgical resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital. In this podcast Dr. White discusses the importance of mentoring, having a strategic mission for inclusion, challenging racism, and the groups most affected by health disparities.  With Dr. Bonnie Mason Simpson.
Recommended reading mentioned by in this podcast:
Joanne Lipman – That’s What She Said (Harper Collins)https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062437235/thats-what-she-said/
Scott E. Paige – The Difference (Princeton University Press)https://press.princeton.edu/titles/8757.html
Augustus A. White III, MD – Seeing Patients (Harvard University Press)http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674241374
 

Is unconscious bias Healthcare’s ”dirty little secret”?

To be human is to have bias and all are likely to be part of a disadvantaged group but some groups have more disparities than others. Two orthopedic surgeons take the lid off one of medicines "dirty little secrets", discussing ways in which unconscious bias towards race, ethnicity, gender, class and condition results in better outcomes for some than others. Unless physicians can recognize and tackle their own unconscious biases, they may continue to be out of sync with their patients, and the nation will be sicker for it. With Professor Mary O’Connor and Dr. Bonnie Simpson Mason.

Can the ”Equality in Medicare and Medicaid Treatment Act” protect human dignity?

Law Professor and bioethics expert Frank McClellan's new book focuses on the importance of human dignity in healthcare. In this podcast he explores how the evolution of health systems has driven an agenda of cost-containment and shifted the burden of financial accountability, often compromising care management and widening disparities for the most vulnerable groups of patients. A new act aims to protect patients by requiring that the consequences of new payment models are researched and adjusted for by CMS, helping to build health equality across race, ethnicity, gender and geography. With policy expert Bill Finerfrock.

The Unintended Effects of Bundled Payments on Health Disparities

Participants:Mary O'Connor, M.D., & Bill Finerfrock
Summary:An orthopedic surgeon's perspective on health disparities. Dr Mary O’Connor believes that new outcomes-based payment models such as bundled payments are exacerbating health disparities by ignoring the huge variance in circumstances for patients, and forcing providers to exclude more complex patients. In the real world, patients are getting very different care because of their race, gender, location and economic means, and some patients are squeezed out of the system completely through a process of "cherry picking and lemon dropping". Health inequities are widening as a result. Is risk-adjustment - incorporating social determinants - part of the solution?