Chronic Illness, Bias, and Equitable Care

• Length: A minimum of 180 words per post, not including references
• Citations: At least two high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years
• relate to another journal reading

Discuss how providers can promote equitable care and employ strategies to avoid bias when caring for patients with chronic illnesses.

The complex system of biases results in adverse health inequities, despite an increasing comprehension of the underlying causes and the healthcare system’s professional, ethical, and moral duty to combat these inequities. Implicit biases transcend the healthcare system and affect patient communication, resulting in sub-optimal decision-making and poor institutionalized practices. Tackling bias is a crucial professional role of stakeholders responsible for the health and well-being of the public, notably those who have long-term illnesses. According to one study, recent interventions to promote equitable care include promoting awareness about the existence of bias and the negative impact it has on reinforcing health disparities and training the relevant skills for bias management (Vela et al., 2022). Transformative learning can be used to confront biases and foster critical discussions that include practical suggestions for dealing with implicit bias in health care practice. Indeed, such interventions can increase provider bias awareness and engage healthcare practitioners in establishing long-term objectives for care delivery. The changes, however, have not been reinforced, and the efficacy of these initiatives has not been realized.

If success in controlling biases and reducing health inequities is to be realized, provider-level implicit bias strategies must be integrated with initiatives that systemically modify structures inside and outside the healthcare system. Structural inequities that are inside the healthcare system that promotes bias can consist of the work and learning environments of nursing students, trainees, and practitioners. It will be essential to tackle these structural bias drivers, which may include racism or gender discrimination. In the long run, eliminating these biases will improve the health outcomes of the chronically ill.

Insurance bias is what I have noticed the most in the last couple of years especially being in administration.  Providers who see patients with lesser paying insurance have pressure to increase their volume.  Providers who see patients with better paying insurance are encouraged to maximize their visits.