When patients present to our ER, the admitting reps are, apparently, required to assign a race or ethnicity to patients. I'll see it at the top of the computer screen. It's so obnoxious and inaccurate.
The main categories are White, Black/African American, Hispanic, Native American/Alaskan Native, Asian, Other, Declines to state.
I doubt they are actually asking patients, just making a judgement call. Plus, some of them are probably as annoyed as me by the whole thing and assigning Black to a White person, and White to a Black person, etc.
The whole thing is, frankly, offensive. Lumping everyone with some connection to Hispanic origins together is absurd, for one thing. Many Mexicans I see probably belong to the American Native category, and some Hispanics are thoroughly European. And what about mixed race people? My granddaughter is half Asian, what is she? Well, the most adorable baby girl on the planet, that's what. And the smartest, and prettiest.
Why don't they have a category for prettiest baby?
I find it funny how so many people, particularly white and black Americans, claim to be part native when a vast amount of native Americans were wiped out with European diseases before so many interracial relationships and families could be established. In reality, the majority who claim it don't have it.
Really? I see it in a lot of people ...particularly Hispanic people, but Native Americans had African slaves and were well known to mix with them, too.
It actually is rather cool in some circles to be part native. My sons have a drop from one of their Amish ancestors, who took a one Susan Bowman (half Seneca native, half English) as a bride. Some people have specuated that I have native blood, my ancestors came early from England, soon after the Mayflower, and although many blonds in the family, the skin tones are rather tan.
I would be honored, although I also think my English ancestors must've had some gumption to cross the ocean, and give their finger to to the British Crown.
It all boils down to the fact that, each and every human being on the Planet Earth descends from survivors! We are all awesome!
Really? I see it in a lot of people ...particularly Hispanic people, but Native Americans had African slaves and were well known to mix with them, too.
A research project by Harvard and 23AndMe using genetic data from 170,000 individuals agrees with you.
They found that a person in the US who identifies as Latino on average has 65.1% European ancestry, 18% Native American Ancestry, and 6.2% African Ancestry.
A person in the US who identifies as African American hs 73.2% African ancestry, 0.8% Native American, and 24% European ancestry.
A person in the US who identifies as white has 98.6% European ancestry, 0.18% Native American, and 0.19% African ancestry. To have 0.18% Native American ancestry and 0.19% African ancestry, 1 of your ancestors within the past 8 generations (since approximately the mid 1700s) would have been African and one would have been Native American.
The percentages vary depending on where you are in the US. For example, Latinos in the southwest have higher percentages of Native American Ancestry, and Caucasions in some states in the south have higher percentages of African ancestry
The study was published in The American Journal of Human Genetics in 2015.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
You think a $10 hr admitting rep is more qualified than a doctor to assess this? Can't the ER doc eyeball the socioeconomic/ethnic situation, and its possible healthcare ramifications?
I think the patient is most qualified to answer the question of their race, and they should be the ones answering it. There are legitimate reasons for a medical chart to note the patient's race and someone has to put it into the chart. Having a minimum wage admitting representative put it in is legitimate -- and if it's their job, they should be doing it correctly.
The question is not for improving patient care. It is for government reports and for someone's research. (e.g. What ethnic group has the most gunshot or knife injuries? What ethic group has the most teenage pregnancies. What percentage of each ethic group are victims of child abuse. What percentage of each ethnic group does the hospital treat.)
That was my first thought is that it's potential research data. Even aside from statistics, as we learn more about genetics and epigenetics, it could aid in future research on genetic predisposition, etc. Granted, that's only if the categories are accurate and accurately recorded. I could see most of it not being useful simply because of classification and entry error. But it potentially has utility outside of racial classification as we think of it in today's terms.
Yes, it is important to record self-identified race/ethnicity of patients. The color of their skin can affect the quality of the care they receive.
Not to mention that hospital data is used by public health authorities everywhere to direct outreach campaigns. There are well-documented differences in the prevalence of some health conditions and diseases in different racial/ethnic populations (asthma, many STIs, Lyme disease, shigelosis, among others). Targeted community-level communications and interventions can't happen effectively without knowing who is at a higher risk.
Sour Lemon
5,016 Posts
Really? I see it in a lot of people ...particularly Hispanic people, but Native Americans had African slaves and were well known to mix with them, too.