Minding the Safety Gap: The Road Towards Global Equity in Health Care Delivery

socioeconomic status, and religion.We all have biases.It is important to be aware of these biases and intervene through education and training.This is vital to avoid stigmatizing patients, which can lead to inappropriate care for vulnerable populations.There are free tests online for implicit bias evaluation (i.e., Implicit Association Test) that can allow us to better identify these biases. 8 Anesthesiologists and members of the health care team also need to meet patients where they are.Equal care will not reduce disparities in patient safety; instead, we need to provide equitable care.Optimizing patient communication is paramount.For example, interpreters should be provided for patients not proficient in English.Preoperative instructions and discharge information should be culturally appropriate, available in multiple languages, and at a reading-level suitable for the patient.Poor communication between patients and their health care providers can result in errors and is a threat to patient safety.Community outreach is another opportunity for anesthesiologists to advance health equity and to follow the American Medical Association (AMA) Declaration of Professional Responsibility.