When Lorraine Brown obtained the results of her bone density scan earlier this year, she was surprised to discover that the laboratory had listed its ethnicity as “white” and that the results were based on norms for caucasic women, because it is black.
The more he fell into the problem, the more angry he turned after he was told that the laboratory machines “predetermined to white” and can skew their results.
“Deletes the Asian woman, the black woman, the Hispanic woman, the indigenous woman. He erases us as we have been erased in Canada throughout my life,” Brown told CBC News.
His family doctor referred to Brown to obtain a bone density scan because he is over 60 years old. “The results list my name, date of birth, my height, sex, age, my weight and my ethnicity. Lists my ethnicity as white, which seemed shocking because I am not white.”
None of the documents completed at the Private Health Clinic requested his ethnic group, he said. After returning to the Health Diagnostic Center in Fanshawe Park Road and talking to numerous people, as well as call They were based on those for a Caucasian woman.
Lost trust
A person in a call center told him that it is likely that “all bone density tests predetermine White; no matter what ethnic origin it is,” Brown said.
“The information is inaccurate. I am not white. How can I trust these results? It is a problem for me. When you are telling a color person that something is always going to white, well, White’s breach never He has benefited. ”
Ge Healthcare told CBC News that before each patient scan, the system asks the user to select their gender and ethnicity. Each hospital or installation can establish predetermined values for its system, but a genre and ethnicity must be entered each time.
The selected ethnic group does not affect the scan itself, but is used to interpret the results, the company said in a statement. The test can be executed again after putting the right ethnicity without having to scan the patient again, added Ge Healthcare.
Having medical tests based on baselines that are white or masculine is common and has led to health problems and erroneous diagnoses, said Chenai Kadunguure, executive director of the Association of Black Physicians of Ontario.
“It is a typical story. Black people in Canada are much less likely to have a family doctor and do tests, and the machinery itself is not designed for you. They are experiences like this that make people avoid medical care Because they are simply not heard and not reliable, “Kadunguure said.
“This type of racism inherent in medicine has caused many problems to provide adequate care. It affects its quality of attention. We listen to things like this day.”
Drug essays use predominantly white patients, and the unique physiology of women is also often ignored, Kadunguure added. “If you have a certain age, gender and race, you must find out how it impacts you. There is a very ‘only one’ type of practice, all people ‘, and leads to really bad health results for blacks and indigenous peoples.”
The Association of Black Physicians has been associated with the London Health Sciences Center, so the staff understands the needs of Black Health, he said, including the need for specific tests and care of the race. The hospital rejected an interview request for this story.
As for Brown, he hopes to talk to his doctor about his results of bone density and see if he needs to make another scan. “I’m not marked by this; I just think we have to fix it. As we go,” he said. “If the piece of ethnic origin does not matter, then eliminate it from the results page. Because at this time, my t scores tells me and then says what is normally based on a normal caucasic woman. I want to know, what is normal for . me?”
CBC News has communicated with Well Diagnostic Centers, which has the clinic where the scan was held, and will update this story if they respond. Ge Healthcare says that patient safety is its highest priority. “As a world medical care company, our goal is to develop products aimed at improving results for all patients,” said a spokesman.
