Racial bias in medicine takes many forms. It occurs when an older black guy sees his doctor, who doesn’t bother to prescribe drugs for hypertension because he assumes his patient will be noncompliant. Maybe it’s when a doctor doesn’t try to counsel her patient with high cholesterol because she assumes Hispanics suffer from with high cholesterol due to deeply entrench lifestyle behaviors. There are even debates that some treatment algorithms used in hospitals are biased due to biased programming.
Category: Direct Primary Care
Women May Lose Access to Autoimmune Drug That is Also Used in Abortions
Methotrexate is a chemotherapy drug used to treat various autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and in higher doses some cancers. Methotrexate is not safe to take during pregnancy. It can cause birth defects and is also used to end life-threatening ectopic pregnancies. When paired with the drug misoprostol it is used to induce a medical abortion.
Why Americans Cannot Have Better Sunscreens
On the 4th of July millions of Americans will head outdoors. They will hit the beach, hit local lakes or do outdoor activities like hiking, biking, baseball or picnics, cookouts and pool parties with friends. Many will slather on sunblock before heading outdoors for activities in the sun. Many of those will forget to reapply sunscreen…
Have a Chronic Disease? There’s a Smartphone App for That
An article in the San Francisco Chronical that was republished in Kaiser Heath News looked at tech firms that monitor chronic conditions remotely. The firms offer both digital or human health coaches to help patients better manage their care. There are approximately 50 different firms designed to help patients adhere to treatment programs or deal with chronic conditions.