
Can Medicine Become More Equitable?
Setup
In its landmark 2002 study, Unequal Treatment, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) stated bluntly that racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health services than white Americans. Two decades after the IOM called out structural racism, the devastating toll remains apparent in the uneven risks associated with COVID, diabetes, asthma, cancer, stroke, and pregnancy. Pain medicines are still prescribed more reluctantly to Black patients and their heart attacks are treated less aggressively. The renewed attention to what has been called “medical apartheid” suggests we are finally trying to reckon with the harms, but only resolute political will, bold policies, and culture change throughout the medical system can make it happen.
Explore More
Health

In America, millions of people struggle with mental health including depression, anxiety, and more — all further exacerbated by living through a pandemic. The National Allianc...

The highest court often seems distanced from our day-to-day lives, but the rulings that come out of the Supreme Court are woven into the fabric of the nation. Though it aims t...

From the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion rights to public health's role in addressing gun violence to the devastating human toll of the war in Ukraine, this year's Aspen Id...

Gen-Z for Change's Aidan Kohn-Murphy on youth-led movements, his advice for young activists, and why it's impossible to lose hope.

Monkeypox has now been declared a public health emergency in the US and a global emergency by the World Health Organization. What do we know about this virus and the current o...

On a weekly basis, 32 million Americans spend 2 hours at one of 30,000 laundromats across the country. What if that time and space could be used to meet people where they are...



After two devastating years fighting the pandemic, how do we rebuild and support stronger health care and public health workforces? Dave Chokshi, who helped lead New York Cit...





Soon, we may be able to visualize any biological process in the human body, at any scale, in real time. Here’s what it will take to get there. Presented by Chan Zuckerberg Ini...




Our changing climate represents one of the greatest challenges to health for the 21st century. Though all of humankind is at risk, communities with weak health and public heal...




