When a doctor discriminates

[Anonymous]

Ridiculous complaint that can delay diagnosis. If the immigrant has not been here long, and/or there are diseases endemic to the area the person came from, it’s critical to note where they are from and how recently they arrived. Otherwise, you could miss something very important that could lead to that person’s death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s valid info on a patient’s history

No, it is not.

Calling a patient an immigrant and writing place and country of birth is private information.

Unless you record place of birth and citizenship status of all of your patients, this is not a valid patient’s history.

There is also difference between stating “lived in country XYZ”, vs “immigrant”.

You’re just completely wrong and absurd. I really doubt you are in the medical field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s valid info on a patient’s history

No, it is not.

Calling a patient an immigrant and writing place and country of birth is private information.

Unless you record place of birth and citizenship status of all of your patients, this is not a valid patient’s history.

There is also difference between stating “lived in country XYZ”, vs “immigrant”.

You’re just completely wrong and absurd. I really doubt you are in the medical field.

Right

Check your biases and xenophobia before posting. I bet you have some self esteem issues if you feel that writing derogatory or overly private remarks about patients is ok. How would you even know whether a person is an immigrant? Accent, the way they look? How do you pick whom to ask inappropriate questions?

Btw … I am talking about legal immigrants who have been here about decades. If you were in a medical field, you would know that they have already been through a significantly higher health screening and verification of vaccinations than those who were born here.

If you have a health related concern about the place where a patient lived, you write it down and explain why you think that might be important to know.

Not just: immigrant, born in city A, country B. At best, you are being lazy and ignorant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Immigration is a highly stressful experience that is a potentially reasonable mention in a trauma-informed social history.

You have no clue what you are talking about. I am calling out xenophobia on your end.

On my end, I am not answering your call. I am answering OP: noting that a patient has immigrated is potentially reasonable. There is not enough information in your original post to make it clear whether it is reasonable in this case or not. Clarify if you're inclined to do so.

[Anonymous]

There’s a good chance a patients social history will include stuff like “is an avid gardener” or “works as a chef” or “lives with long term trouple mates” if it’s a thorough new patient appointment. So yes, it’s appropriate to include if they are an immigrant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s valid info on a patient’s history

No, it is not.

Calling a patient an immigrant and writing place and country of birth is private information.

Unless you record place of birth and citizenship status of all of your patients, this is not a valid patient’s history.

There is also difference between stating “lived in country XYZ”, vs “immigrant”.

Call me crazy but I consider anything medical on my medical file WAY more private than where I was born and grew up, which, incidentally was not in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

There's been some serious anesthesia complications found only in people with venezuelan descent recently. I think it is a legit question for anyone you suspect may be venezualan.

[Anonymous]

Or Ashkenazi Jewish for pregnant women...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A colleague of mine in the same medical system labeled a patient as “immigrant” from a X city in X country. I think he’s crossed the line. Would you say something?

Why would you even know this? And no, not inappropriate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A colleague of mine in the same medical system labeled a patient as “immigrant” from a X city in X country. I think he’s crossed the line. Would you say something?

How do you know this as a fact if it’s not your patient? Wouldn’t accessing their records violate HIPAA?

[Anonymous]

They also note your occupation. It is all relevant to one's health and provides a lot of insight to early healthcare and lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a loaded word, but that is political.

I sometimes write where people grew up for exposures and genetics that might be relevant. (GI)

Would you think it better to make it a verb instead of a noun? 64 you male who emigrated from …?

I also write BMI instead of obesity because that is also a loaded word.

I don’t think it’s discriminatory. It can be perceived as problematic. It is important information as described by many above.

To avoid being inappropriate you could say something like Northern European or South Asian decent. Best to be specific why you are including that information (vaccination, exposure, …). It is ignorant to say that there is no bias or assumption when it comes to certain regions of the world. As most immigrants will tell you, discrimination is sadly part of their reality. When you write specific information, such as city within a country, you are drawing attention to this info with every visit to any other medical professional who might ask additional questions or make assumptions that have nothing to do with a relevant medical history. So, this would be best to avoid. Just write down what to look out for from the medical perspective.

There are citizens of various descents. The reason a person was noted as being an immigrant is because the health history of immigrants specifically differs from Americans of various origins

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or Ashkenazi Jewish for pregnant women...

That’s an ethnicity not an immigration status