I hope people will take some time to read this new landmark study in @Health_Affairs by Dr. Lisa Iezzoni of @MonganHealthPol & colleagues, demonstrating the profound ableism that still exists in healthcare:

Link here
http://shorturl.at/opuQV 

What did they find?
A

More than 80% of physicians reported that people with significant disabilities have a worse quality of life than non disabled people.

From Dr. Iezzoni: “We wouldn’t expect most physicians to say that racial or ethnic minorities have a lower quality of life, yet 4/5 of physicians made that pronouncement.. That shows the erroneous assumptions and a lack of understanding of the lives of people with disability..."

Only 40.7% of surveyed physicians reported being "very confident" about their ability to provide the same quality of care to patients with disabilities as their other patients. Just 56.5% "strongly agreed" that they welcomed patients with disabilities into their practices.

My take: These results demonstrate the urgent need to address the implicit bias and reinforcement of the medial model that persists in our current systems of medical education. Here are some solutions...

1. Follow the work of the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education: http://www.adhce.org 

On their site, you'll see a listing of recommended core competencies that should be integrated in #MedEd

2. Ensure that ALL med school curriculum focused on health equity - now a common part of training programs - is inclusive of disability. 1 in 4 Black Americans and 1 in 5 Hispanic Americans self report disability. These identities are highly intersectional. (Figure: CDC)

3. Back to "nothing about us without us"... expand and support efforts toward reducing barriers for young people with disabilities who aspire to a career in medicine & the health professions. Working alongside #DocsWithDisabilites immediately creates a shift in mindset.