Our doctors are repeatedly working to enhance health equity, but that work isn’t without its challenges. In the first episode of Off the Charts, we talk with Dr. Zeke McKinney, an evironmental and occupational physcian at HealthPartners. He discusses constructing trust with patients, advocating for public health education and how systemic racism impacts the health of communities of color. Take heed to our debut episode or read the transcript.
The challenges to constructing trust with patients
Developing a relationship and trust with patients goes good distance in addressing health disparities. This is usually a challenge, nonetheless, as doctors are under a number of pressure to see patients as quickly as possible. With a volume-based approach to care, there isn’t much opportunity to take the time needed to attach with patients.
Dr. McKinney talks about making appointments more of a partnership between doctor and patient. As an alternative of disregarding patient concerns in favor of a fast diagnosis, seriously hearken to the information patients bring to the appointment. Spend a couple of minutes of every appointment talking through their concerns and what information they might have found online. It could actually even help to thank patients for being engaged with their health and making an try and work out what they need.
Higher community health education is required
In Dr. McKinney’s opinion, the lack of health education is one in all the major hurdles in terms of constructing trust with patients. Many individuals come to their doctor visits and not using a basic understanding of what’s going to occur during the appointment.
It could actually be difficult for patients to provide details about their symptoms and concerns because they don’t have a great baseline knowledge of health. Teaching people when to see a physician, what sort of questions doctors ask, what their organs do and why all this matters could really help improve community health.
Systemic racism and the way it affects health disparity
Lack of patient trust plays a fair greater role in terms of health disparity. Dr. McKinney discusses how social determinants of health influence rates of disease, including COVID-19. Systemic racism impacts access to health care, medical health insurance, education and even transportation – all of which affect personal health.
Communities of color have been affected disporpotionately by the COVID-19 pandemic. They see higher rates of infection and death, and lower rates of immunization. Dr. McKinney talks about how doctors and insurance providers who address social health aspects can close the health disparity gap.
Addressing vaccine hesitancy
There remains to be a number of vaccine hesitancy in the world, especially inside communities of color. Opening a dialogue with patients will help encourage them to get the vaccine and feel more comfortable with doctors in general.
The approach Dr. McKinney takes is to bring in more anecdotal evidence when talking with patients. Telling a story a couple of friend or member of the family is more relatable to patients than listing facts and statistics. Talking along with your patients such as you’d talk along with your mom or best friend makes a hotter, more human connection. Take heed to hear how Dr. McKinney worked to spread accurate details about COVID-19 and the vaccine in his community.