Dayna Matthew Discusses Her Book, Just Medicine

On November 3, 2016, the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, the Black Law Students Association, and the Yale Health Law and Policy Society held a discussion with Dayna Matthew, Professor at University of Colorado Law School and the Colorado School of Public Health.

Professor Matthew presented her book, Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care, which argues implicit bias in the health-care system can be combatted by making changes to the legal and social landscape. Studies estimate that implicit bias allows 84,000 people of color to die needlessly each year, but that little has been done to adequately combat it on a systemic level. One possible solution Professor Matthew suggests is that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits explicit or intentional racism in medical care, should be revised to allow lawsuits solely based on disparate impact unless the entity being sued took reasonable steps to prevent implicit bias.