Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
In the past three years, states have begun helping those working in the medical field stop acting on unconsciously held beliefs, known as implicit bias (Source: “With Implicit Bias Hurting Patients, Some States Train Doctors,” Pew Stateline, April 21, 2022).
Since 2019, at least four states — California, Maryland, Michigan, and Washington — have adopted policies requiring at least some healthcare workers to take implicit bias training, some as a prerequisite for professional licensure or renewal.
Bills on implicit bias training in health care have been introduced in state legislatures over the past two years in many other states, including Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont. Minnesota passed a law last year requiring obstetrics units to offer implicit bias training.
Even without laws, some health systems in recent years began offering or requiring training in implicit bias, as have some medical schools, including Harvard, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and The Ohio State University.