Join clinical experts, thought leaders, and advocates for a collaborative discussion on the issues of health disparities, structural racism, and medicine as we examine specific dermatologic diseases in a series of four free and open educational webinars.
Implicit bias and structural racism play a central role in the development of health care disparities. One of the critically important areas in medicine is the misdiagnosis of disease in people with darker skin types due to implicit bias and the lack of awareness among physicians in recognizing the disease pattern. Clinicians in primary care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and other medical specialties can deliver improved care if they can recognize and diagnose medical conditions based on skin findings in patients of color. This four-part series aims to improve diagnosis in people of color, describe pathogenesis and treatment of diseases, develop cultural competency, and impact change in health care policy so more is done to reduce racial bias in medical practice and medical research. Providing this education, in turn, will ultimately help reduce health disparities and improve the lives of underrepresented minority populations.
Panelists will focus on the challenges physicians face in recognizing systemic diseases in melanin-rich skin types. There can be delays and misdiagnosis of life-threatening diseases when color changes related to the disease are not recognized. The skin signs of Covid-19 comorbidities (i.e., diabetes and pulmonary disease) will be discussed in adults and children.
Upon completion of this webinar you will be able to:
1 Describe the influence of skin color and ethnicity on implicit bias in the physical exam and impact on health disparities.
2 Recognize and diagnose hypoxemia, anemia, erythema, and other systemic color changes in the skin that reflect health and disease in darker skin types.
3 Describe and identify the skin manifestations of COVID-19 and Covid-related comorbidities in adults.
4 Describe and identify skin manifestations of COVID-19 and related comorbidities in children.
5 Explain the need for awareness of cultural sensitivities and the need for cultural competency training in all curriculum.
6 Propose skin of color dermatology curriculum to train first-line providers to recognize the cutaneous manifestations of systemic diseases.
Moderator: [TBD]
Panelist: Lynn McKinley-Grant, MD, FAAD, Candrice R. Heath, MD, and Ginette A. Okoye, MD, FAAD
