Primary Care Doctors Need Help To Achieve Health Equity

© (Getty Stock Images) A ​​doctor treats a patient

I am a family physician, but I am a patient affected by discrimination and injustice in the national health care system. I've had times when my symptoms were ignored and I didn't get the right help because of my own biases.

My story is not out of the ordinary and should be dedicated to this fact alone: ​​Another sign of a paradigm shift in health care is long overdue as we recognize, understand, and challenge bias and injustice in medicine.

Fortunately, the best resource that allows us to achieve this goal is already built into our healthcare system: family physicians.

Family physicians work closely with patients and their families throughout their lives. We are a trusted source of care and hope for our patients, witnessing the social and structural inequalities that affect their health. We know their communities and their environment very well, so we are uniquely positioned to help close the capital gaps.

However, as we work to build these bridges, important steps must be taken to support primary health care in the United States. The health care system in the United States must consider the current needs of society, properly train physicians to meet those needs, and provide a stronger and more diverse workforce.

I am well aware that many patients suffer from serious injustice long before they visit a doctor. Research shows that approximately 80% of a patient's health is determined by social and economic factors, health-related behaviors, and the physical environment. To this end, our health system must do more to recognize the social determinants of health, that is, the environmental factors that can contribute to health inequalities, including where you live, what you eat, education level, housing, and access. Transport - affects the lives of patients. Meeting patients wherever they are can help improve health outcomes and close gaps in care.

In addition, it is very important that we have a medical staff that reflects the diversity of the country's population. Survey results show that most patients from racial or ethnic minorities find it important to have at least some degree of importance to have a physician who shares or understands their culture. When patients feel connected and understood by their physicians, they are less likely to refuse care, and clinicians from different backgrounds can learn more about the unique needs of minority patients. To make the family medicine workforce more diverse, we must promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in medical education and create jobs that not only represent diversity, but also embrace, celebrate, and enhance it.

However, we cannot eliminate health disparities if there are not enough physicians in the communities that need the most help. We need to invest in programs that encourage more medical students to choose primary health care as a specialty, especially family medicine. We also need to create opportunities for more physicians to train and work in disadvantaged areas and increase funding for federal programs that support disadvantaged communities, such as the Loan Forgiveness Program for government employees and the National Health Service.

Improving patients' access to healthcare is only the first step. They also need to understand the services available to them so they can make informed decisions about their health and care needs. Previous estimates suggested that while the majority of American adults have an average level of health literacy (the ability to access and understand information to make informed decisions about their health), only 12% become a health professional. These gaps, exacerbated by stigma, discrimination, and the need for a diverse healthcare workforce, create barriers that are difficult to overcome.

This is why investing in primary health care is more important than ever. The first national primary health care scorecard, compiled by researchers at the Robert Graham Center and released earlier this year, highlighted that "historic funding shortfalls and projected labor shortages threaten the positive impact of primary health care on the nation's health." This is a warning that you should be aware of.

I believe healthcare is a human right. I hope that someday in the future we will have equity in our American health care system and that social, political, economic and cultural issues will not interfere with quality health care.

Family physicians are at the forefront of the fight for health equity, but we cannot do this alone.

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