• J Natl Med Assoc · Oct 2020

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

    • J Corey Williams, Nientara Anderson, Myra Mathis, Ezelle Sanford, Jeffrey Eugene, and Jessica Isom.
    • The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: williamj28@email.chop.edu.
    • J Natl Med Assoc. 2020 Oct 1; 112 (5): 550-552.

    AbstractThis 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.Copyright © 2020 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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