Pharmafile Logo

Evaluating the Forces Shaping Women’s Healthcare

March 6, 2024 | Leadership, Women in healthcare 

Gaps in women’s healthcare go beyond access and cost. Do clinicians have the tools they need to understand women’s health?

- PMLiVE

 

If there are any lingering doubts about how today’s healthcare system fails many women, a 2022 study from the Kaiser Family Foundation will set the record straight. Their report revealed that close to 20 percent of all women in the U.S. ages 18 and older considered their health fair or poor. Out of a population of 168 million women, that is a shockingly large number of people who feel less than well.

Drilling down by race and ethnicity, the numbers break out to 31% of American Indian and Alaskan Native women, 25% of Hispanic women, 23% of black women, 16% of white women, and 10% of Asian Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women. The same study found that 10% of all women 18 and older did not see a doctor due to cost.

And here’s something else to consider, says Jane Delgado, clinical psychologist and President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health. Even if you can afford it, if you have access to health insurance, “once you get through the door, does the person you see hear you? Does that person have the tools to understand women’s health? Are you getting the care you need, and does your healthcare provider have the tools and information they need?”

Not to mention the additional barriers of ethnicity and age that women often face, says Jodi Abbott, who has dual roles as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a physician in maternal fetal medicine at Boston Medical Center, and Medical Director of the Education Center, Curriculum and Outreach for the American Medical Association (AMA). Women’s complaints “are much less likely to be listened to, and they end up being underdiagnosed and undertreated for most conditions.” While you’re seeing a physician to try to feel better, “they are there to cross a disease off a list. There’s a mismatch between the hopes and expectations of many people who enter the system and how most physicians are trained. Our healthcare system is geared toward disease management, rather than addressing the elements that help keep people healthy.”

Abbott says she’s “privileged” to work at Boston Medical, which is an ACO, or accountable care organization. “The difference between that system and traditional insurance-based or fee-for-service systems is that our organization is set up to have a certain amount of money every year to keep people healthy as opposed to receiving money for how much time they spend in the hospital because of certain diagnoses. When we switched to that, it really opened the door to physicians and health care providers with the desire to widen their team—for example, to include non-physician team members—and to be able to focus on initiatives that can improve health, and not just those that identify complications.”

One example of this, says Abbott, has been a large investment in the community and in “nontraditional” mechanisms of health care, such as doulas—birth attendants who are not physicians, not nurses, “who represent the women in the communities that our patients come from. They are multilingual, and can have a personal connection, sort of a mother or auntie figure, but they also know how a hospital works and can guide people who are attending for the first time.

“There’s an important investment that needs to be made [in programs] that help keep people healthy,” Abbott says.

We need to hit our health enterprise at many different levels to really effect change, says Delgado. “From how the system includes women in every place from researcher to clinician to participant, to how women approach that system. And we need to talk to women about their total health and teach them about how to take care of themselves, not just when they’re pregnant but throughout their whole lives.”

Listen now to season two, episode 1 on MedscapeSpotify or Apple.

For more information please contact Jelena Spyropoulos (Global) or Piyali Chatterjee-Shin (US).

Hosted by Haleh Kadkhoda, MS, CHCP, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Public Health at Medscape Education

 

About Medscape Education Medscape Education (medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free accredited CME and CE courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.

 

This content was provided by Medscape Education

Company Details

 Latest Content from  Medscape Education 

Leading the Way at ESC 2024

Anticipation is building at Medscape Education as the team prepares for the ESC 2024 Congress. We are excited to announce a significant presence during the congress including a booth (#H500)...

Always Be in a Growth Mindset: Chief Strategy Officer Christina Hoffman’s Return to Her Education Roots

Medicine is always changing, and the career of Medscape Education’s Chief Strategy Officer, Christina Hoffman, is no exception. The 17-year Medscape veteran recently said goodbye to her role as leader...

Medscape Education Showcases Unprecedented Achievements at EHA 2024

Medscape Education is proud to share its monumental success at the EHA 2024 Congress. Our continued commitment to patient-centric medical education was evident throughout the event, with notable achievements and...

Reaching Women Where They’re At: Setting Up a Safe Space for HIV Prevention Conversations

“I always enjoyed solving problems and putting puzzles together,” says Harmony Garges, MD, CMO at ViiV Healthcare and a pediatric infectious disease specialist. “So for me, infectious disease was a...

Medscape Education Demonstrates Strong Education Outcomes at the American Diabetes Association 2024 Conference

Medscape Education presented seven scientific posters at this year’s American Diabetes Association (ADA) conference in Orlando, Florida. These posters highlighted the outcomes of Medscape Education’s continuing medical education programs, which...

Stemming the Flow–Medscape Presents at HLTH Europe

Medscape Education will be attending HLTH Europe from June 17-20. Be sure to drop by our booth to participate in our survey and enjoy exciting giveaways. Additionally, Dr. John Whyte,...

Medscape Education to Emphasize the Role of Education in Digital Therapeutics at DTA Summit

As a leader in medical education and proud sponsor of the 2024 Digital Therapeutics Summit, Medscape is excited to announce that Medscape Education’s Chief Strategy Officer, Christina Hoffman, will be...

Medscape Oncology to Make a Significant Impact at ASCO 2024

ASCO is one of the biggest conferences of the year for Medscape Oncology, and the team is ready to make an impact in Chicago. They’ll be manning booth #26030, where...

Medscape Oncology Launches Inaugural Medscape Fellows Program at ASCO 2024

Medscape Oncology is excited to announce the launch of the first-ever Medscape Fellows Program at the 2024 ASCO meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This groundbreaking program aims to nurture young oncology...

Navigating Food Allergy Management: Trends, Treatments, and Decision-Making

Are you having trouble navigating the management of food allergies? Join our faculty experts for a live conversation on social media to learn about the evolving complexities in food allergy...