How can you prevent unconscious bias in healthcare?

I'm always a fan of diversity in the team, especially considering the increasing use of artificial intelligence, for instance, in radiology. Developing diverse teams with individuals of different backgrounds and genders is crucial to accurately represent the diverse perspectives needed in this field. Additionally, it's beneficial to engage in educational efforts, incorporating discussions during training and academic programs, to proactively address and dismantle barriers in the long term. ????

Let anyone except the healthcare provider or payer prepare the questionaire. Possibly by observing a room full of patients post treatment talking randomly with no host. You will hear the truth as your ot sees it.

I've realised, albeit a bit late, that I've been biased in favour of doctors vis a vis other healthcare workers for clinical mistakes. Sometimes, doctors make mistakes too much like everyone else. We're all human after all. Doctors need to be counseled whenever mistakes occur on the floor. Sometimes nurses and other allied healthcare workers take the blame for a mistake inadvertently made by a clinician. Biases are anathema to organisational growth. We all have them but we must work to weed them out by listening to different perspectives and observing things on ground, first hand. Frequent interactions with key healthcare stakeholders helps mitigate the anomaly.

I have often found one on one meetings with diverse healthcare workers an effective tool to better understand their work, inherent challenges and interventions required. Town Hall meetings, suggestion boxes strategically placed, informal interaction while on the round of healthcare facilities, engaging in joint sports & entertainment activities are other means to remove inherent biases. Departmental & performance review meetings and seeking direct feedbacks are other activities that I have often found useful that lead to better understanding and organisational development and growth. More communication with all important stakeholders is de riguer.

Stereotypes are rampant in all organisations. Consciously working on them is important. This can be done by holding freeflowing and empathetic conversations with your subordinates, colleagues and superiors. All humans lack understanding of other people's cultural affinities , style of working and background. This can only be corrected by better interaction sans judgment. Fostering better relationships with your employees through joint activities often lead to excellent sense of camaraderie and group cohesiveness. This helps remove inherent biases. Celebrating festivals, birthdays & anniversaries, small wins and special occassions together also lead to better understanding and remove biases.

Cultural competency training and self-reflection are essential components, as is promoting a diverse workforce. Guidelines, checklists, and evidence-based protocols can help standardize care to mitigate subjective decision-making, while feedback mechanisms, accountability, and data collection assist in addressing disparities.

Bias Reporting Mechanisms Implement reporting mechanisms for bias-related incidents. Encourage healthcare professionals to report bias, and establish procedures for investigation and follow-up.

Continous Improvement Regularly assess the impact of these strategies and continuously improve them based on feedback and evolving best practices.