Thank you for sharing your story, Safia. I am so sorry that you had to go through so much with the healthcare system and I apologize for the negative impact it has had on your life. No one profession is perfect, but there have been a lot of research on biases in healthcare. Unfortunately, these biases tend to vary from person to person and are impacted by things like upbringing, values, own personal privileges and beliefs. I wish there was an easy fix to prevent bias on a generalized scale, but I don’t think we are there yet as a society. I personally think (as a current medical student) that the medical field could do a better job at noticing their biases then doing something about it. However, I think most people don’t even know what specific biases they have or project and we all know that this negatively impacts patient care and treatment. I hope the next generation of healthcare providers are better at “doing no harm” and actively are aware of and working on their own biases in their work so that they can better treat ALL of their patients. I appreciate your voice on this matter and for bringing light onto this very important issue!

Safia does a great job bringing to light an issue that is a plague in our healthcare system but can easily be seen in our daily lives if we make ourselves aware of it. Safia is just one of many examples that exist throughout the country of people who have experienced medical care that was saturated with biases. Biases based on race, gender, and many other identifying features. Safia’s story is a common one of being passed around from doctor to doctor trying to find answers to find the cause of her symptoms just to find doctors who consciously, or subconsciously, let their personal biases take the forefront of their minds as they treat their patients. These biases lead to decreased patient satisfaction, decreased patient compliance, and an overall feeling of distrust toward physicians and other healthcare workers. Many times, these biases exist with the physician not aware that they are exhibiting a bias. A doctor could have a bias towards a certain diagnosis based on the presenting symptoms of their patient which makes it difficult to think of the “outside the box” rarer diagnoses that may have the same presenting symptoms as a more common one. These types of biases limit the scope of the physician’s differential diagnosis which leads to a treating of symptoms rather than finding and treating the cause. A patient may also find that their symptoms are discredited by their doctor because they are seen as “drug-seeking” or because of their gender they are weaker/stronger than they should be. These as just a few examples of the many biases that unfortunately exist in our healthcare system. In medical ethics, the principle of beneficence is crucial to understand in order to become aware and combat these biases. Beneficence means to promote the well-being of others. It is crucial for medical professionals to approach each patient and individual that comes to their office having their well-being at the forefront of their mind. I feel that the best way to do that is to first have a mindset change and a reminder to physicians and healthcare workers that they are treating a real person, not just symptoms. I feel that many physicians, maybe by no fault of their own, get entrenched into their routine that they don’t take a chance to step back and refocus before moving on to their next patient. The important thing to remember as the patients, is that physicians are people too. If we took the time to slow down and really pay attention to how we think about and treat others, we would see that it is not just an issue that exists in healthcare but in every aspect of the world today. We all have biases that we play onto people and that we place onto our physicians. We let one bad experience with a physician dictate our thoughts and feelings towards all physicians. This is a change of mind that we will all need to have in order to see change.

Sofa you are an AMAZING speaker for people 2ho know 5he pain of discrimination in health. You health care is a l8fe or death matter. I am in Kentucky and right in the middle of this He'll while very very sick! I will scream even it I die in court I will not accept this too! Thank you very much ❤

Safia should be commended for sharing her story and the things she had to endure as a patient. She went through the hardships that patients should not have to be going through. To address implicit and even explicit bias in healthcare, it is important for healthcare providers and other institutions to recognize and acknowledge their bias in healthcare and bias they may have for their patients. Implementing training programs and policies can reduce the impact that it has when treating patients. This can include strategies such as cultural competency training, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the use of standardized protocols to guide clinical decision making. Biases can result in treatment disparities which can affect patients receiving suboptimal care compared to others. These types of issues have affected Safia and millions of others that has led to worse health outcomes compared to white populations. Disparities in healthcare are unfortunately something that still exists. As we move forward my hope is that with these trainings and other protocols that can be implemented into this system it will allow for people like Safia and others to get proper care and treatment that they deserve.

She is amazing. And she told my story over and over again.

I listened to this entire TED talk and still at the end. I’m wondering what is your diagnosis, this is coming from an RN.

chills ❤️

So true; doctor bais. Because I'm homeless, caused by family fight over estate, doctors in the ER treat me as a drug addict after drugs when my body doesn't tolerate drugs. Or they think I'm taking advantage of Medicare, by letting the system pay for me to sleep in a warm hospital instead of my car. The worst medical professionals I've had are Seventh Day Adventist, who see themselves as gods with a devine calling to serve God through their calling. They are quick to judge, only treating those whose symptoms show on their chosen medical test and fit in the right cubbie hole.

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Use the USA legal rights to the courts system you are allowed by law!!