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“When Appearances Matter: A Taxonomy and Ethics for Demographic-Based Provider Requests”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2023

Carrie C. Wu  and
Jacob M. Appel Open the ORCID record for Jacob M. Appel [Opens in a new window]
Carrie C. Wu
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Adult Psychosocial Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
Jacob M. Appel*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Requests by patients for providers of specific demographic backgrounds pose an ongoing challenge for hospitals, policymakers, and ethicists. These requests may stem from a wide variety of motivations; some may be consistent with broader societal values, although many others may reflect prejudices inconsistent with justice, equity, and decency. This paper proposes a taxonomy designed to assist healthcare institutions in addressing such cases in a consistent and equitable manner. The paper then reviews a range of ethical and logistical challenges raised by such requests and proposed guidance to consider when reviewing and responding to them.

Keywords

demographic backgroundstaxonomyprejudicesjusticeequityethicalchallenges
Type
Research Article
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , July 2023 , pp. 406 - 413
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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