Colorblind Algorithms: Racism in the Era of COVID-19.

Colorblind Algorithms: Racism in the Era of COVID-19. J Natl Med Assoc. 2020 Jun 17;: Authors: Williams JC, Anderson N, Mathis M, Samford E, Eugene J, Isom J Abstract This commentary offers a critique of the recent policy document issued by White et al. (2020) to guide critical care resource (e.g. ventilators) allocation during public health emergencies such as COVID-19. We argue that, if disseminated widely, this criteria would result in a racially inequitable resource distribution in the current COVID-19 crisis. We link the White et al. (2020) resource distribution protocol to other "colorblind" healthcare algorithms that have relied on seemingly objective but fundamentally biased data, thereby reinforcing and exacerbating pre-existing racial health disparities. We suggest a health equity framework to ensure unbiased distribution of critical care resources during COVID-19 and in general practice. PMID: 32563687 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of the National Medical Association - Category: General Medicine Tags: J Natl Med Assoc Source Type: research