Health Data Can Help Us Close the Cultural Awareness and Trust Gaps Exposed by COVID-19

American healthcare has so many advantages: cutting-edge vaccine development, global experts in public health, massive gains in our technology and interoperability, while at the same time, Americans are suffering and dying because of a crisis of trust. The devastating health outcomes of distrust and a broken health contract this year have been made even clearer through this pandemic. The disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on communities of color and low-income and working people highlights that those who (often validly) have distrust of our healthcare systems are once again being harmed. And the cycle continues.

As Dr. Anthony Fauci told CBS News: “Clearly, we have not succeeded in getting the public as a whole uniformly to respond in a way that is a sound scientific [response to a] public health and medical situation. I mean, it is clear because right now, you’re seeing people throughout the country [contracting the virus]. And it’s unfortunate. And it’s frustrating.” That frustration has been a wake-up call to many health stakeholders, providers, and plans that have seen so starkly that our healthcare system isn’t working well for a huge percentage of the people who call this country home. Even the most reluctant leaders can see that we have to do better. The hurdles to health justice are significant, however, and trust is at the center.

Read the full article by Abner Mason, MX Board Member and CEO/Founder of ConsejoSano, on MedCity News.