Weekly News Roundup: November 1, 2019

How to Combat Disparity and Discrimination in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is under scrutiny for its treatment of different groups including residents, women in leadership (or lack thereof), and the LGBTQ+ community. In this week’s news roundup: how health systems can leverage data to improve care delivery to the LGBTQ+ community; female residents report higher rates of discrimination leading to higher rates of burnout; how to improve the skewed ratio of entry level female employees to the number of women at the top in the healthcare industry; and a new alliance in the Northwest focuses on achieving health equity in seven states over the next two years.

Many Health Systems Are Failing the LGBTQ+ Community-Two Ways to Improve

For any healthcare consumer, finding the right provider can be difficult. For members of the LGBTQ+ community, this challenge is amplified. LGBTQ+ healthcare is multifaceted, and LGBTQ+ members often struggle for equity in the U.S. healthcare system due to stigma, stereotyping, lack of understanding, or discrimination, contributing to increased health risks and worse outcomes.
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Why Few Healthcare Executives Are Women-and Three Ways to Fix it

Most entry-level healthcare employees are women, but because of a “broken rung” in the career ladder, women make up a much smaller percentage of employees at the highest levels, according to a recent report from LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company. Here’s how experts suggest tackling the issue. Read More

Half of Surgical Residents-Especially Women-Experience Workplace Mistreatment

Half of surgical residents say they have experienced workplace mistreatment, but the problem is even worse for women, according to a new study. That exposure to discrimination, abuse and harassment in the surgical training environment is associated with burnout and suicidal thoughts, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More

Advancing the Goals of Health Equity

Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW) along with its parent organization Community Health Network of Washington (CHNW), announced in late September that they will join the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) in advancing the goals of health equity. Read More