9 Evidence-Based Implicit Bias Implications for Physicians and Healthcare Professionals: Summary
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Implicit bias, meaning the attitudes or internalized stereotypes that affect our perceptions, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner, exists, and often contributes to unequal treatment of people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, and other characteristics. (b) Implicit bias contributes to health disparities by affecting the behavior of physicians and surgeons, nurses, physician assistants, and other healing arts licensees. (c) Evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare is remarkably consistent across a range of illnesses and healthcare services. Racial and ethnic disparities remain even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences, insurance status, and other factors influencing access to healthcare. (d) African American women are three to four times more likely than White women to die from pregnancy-related causes nationwide. African American patients often are prescribed less pain medication than White patients who present the same complaints, and African American patients with signs of heart problems are not referred for advanced cardiovascular procedures as often as White patients with the same symptoms. (e) Implicit gender bias also impacts treatment decisions and outcomes. Women are less likely to survive a heart attack when they are treated by a male physician and surgeon. LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming patients are less likely to seek timely medical care because they experience disrespect and discrimination from healthcare staff, with one out of five transgender patients nationwide reporting that they were outright denied medical care due to bias. (f) The Legislature intends to provide specified healing arts licensees with strategies for understanding and reducing the impact of their biases in order to reduce disparate outcomes and ensure that all patients receive fair treatment and quality healthcare.
LEARNING TIP! Implicit bias can be defined as those attitudes, beliefs, and
The majority of information is processed unconsciously, out of awareness. As people process this information, their unconscious association can reinforce stereotypes that most often differ from their conscious assessment of an individual or group. These unconscious associations can contribute to the unequal treatment of people based on their race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, etc. Although implicit bias and unconscious associations can be a subtle influence on cognition and behavior, their impact on decisions can be significant . Recently, an increasing number of states have enacted legislation recognizing the criticality of implicit bias in healthcare. The following is an example from California: Examples include: Assuming a "strong accent" is related to intelligence; generalizing from one" bad experience" with a patient to every patient of the same racial background; and prefering patients and/or colleagues who are similar to you. ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 241 - CHAPTER 417 This bill would require the Board of Registered Nursing, by January 1, 2022, to adopt regulations requiring all continuing education courses for its licensees to contain curriculum that includes specific instruction in the understanding of implicit bias in treatment. Beginning January 1, 2023, the bill would require continuing education providers to comply with these provisions and would require the board to audit education providers for compliance with these provisions, as specified. stereotypes that affect our understanding, behavior, and actions in an unconscious (implicit) manner. A relatively small portion of the information the brain processes is conscious (explicit bias).
Powered by FlippingBook