The overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of racially minoritized groups as having a primary psychotic disorder is one of psychiatry's longest-standing inequities born of real-time clinician racial bias. Evidence suggests that providers assign a diagnosis of schizophrenia and/or schizoaffective disorder according to race more than any other demographic variable, and this inequity persists even in the absence of differences in clinician symptom ratings. This case report describes the journey of one young Black woman through her racialized misdiagnosis of schizophrenia and the process by which interdisciplinary, health equity-minded providers across the spectrum of medical education and practice joined together to provide a culturally informed, systematic rediagnosis of major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this editorial, we further discuss the effects that health equity tourism has had on Black, Native, and Latinx marginalized communities. We identify the consequences of the resulting medical mistrust within these communities as well as implications for data collection in research. Throughout, solutions are proposed that may eventually empower these communities to become actively engaged with the research and initiatives that influence their health outcomes, as well as improve the quality and quantity of data extracted from these communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough it is widely accepted that patients do better when evidence-based health care practices are used, there is less acknowledgment of the positive outcomes associated with evidence-based policy making. To address the need for high-quality evidence to inform mental health policies, Psychiatric Services has recently launched a new article format: the Policy Review. This review type defines a specific policy-relevant issue affecting behavioral health systems, describes current knowledge and limitations, and discusses policy implications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext.—: Assessing direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) drug levels by reliable laboratory assays is necessary in a number of clinical scenarios.
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Acinic cell carcinoma of the breast is a rare subtype of triple-negative breast cancer that recapitulates the appearance of tumors seen in salivary glands. We present the case of a 42-year-old woman with an irregular, nontender mass above the left nipple during routine obstetric appointment at 24 weeks gestation. She was subsequently diagnosed with triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast, Nottingham grade 3, via core needle biopsy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite available treatment options for addiction, there remains an abysmal uptake of treatment initiation and engagement among varying communities. The existing treatment gap is based on historical occurrences, including discriminatory drug policies that have targeted communities of color with addiction. The current opioid epidemic and differential treatment therein exemplifies the severity of the existing disparity in addiction treatment, highlighting barriers such as institutionalized racism and vulnerabilities in the social determinants of health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth inequities stem from systematic, pervasive social and structural forces. These forces marginalize populations and create the circumstances that disadvantage these groups, as reflected in differences in outcomes like life expectancy and infant mortality and in inequitable access to and delivery of health care resources. To help eradicate these inequities, physicians must understand racism, sexism, oppression, historical marginalization, power, privilege, and other sociopolitical and economic forces that sustain and create inequities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis commentary offers a critique of the recent policy document issued by White et al. (2020) to guide critical care resource (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this review is to describe structure and function of the multiple proteins of the coagulation system and their subcomponent domains. Coagulation is the process by which flowing liquid blood plasma is converted to a soft, viscous gel entrapping the cellular components of blood including red cells and platelets and thereby preventing extravasation of blood. This process is triggered by the minimal proteolysis of plasma fibrinogen.
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