Among the many lessons from the fractious presidential election is the manifest need for a national dialogue on what it means to be a diverse, inclusive society. There are myriad threads and entry points to such a discussion, but it might start with our health care system. Despite decades of reports, the formation of organizations and conferences dedicated to diversity and access to quality health care remains out of reach for many minority populations.
A new report by the Brookings Institution, “Time for Justice: Tackling Race Inequalities in Health and Housing,” finds that when compared with whites, black patients are referred to see specialists less often, receive less appropriate preventive care, have fewer kidney and bone marrow transplants, receive fewer anti-retroviral drugs for HIV and get fewer prescriptions of antidepressants for diagnosed depression.
