Health Minister Sajid Javid ordered a review of whether medical devices are equally effective regardless of the patient’s ethnicity.
Research suggests that oximeters clamped on a person’s finger can overestimate the oxygen levels in the blood of people of ethnic minorities.
Ministers want to know if a bias might have prevented patients from receiving adequate Covid treatment.
Mr Javid said any bias was “totally unacceptable”.
In a letter to the Sunday Times, Mr Javid said he was determined to “close the chasms that the pandemic has uncovered”.
He cited the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on black, Asian and other ethnic minorities.
Concerns About Using Oxygen Monitors On Darker Skin
Watchdog investigates racial inequalities in health care
Black people are twice as likely to get Covid
Covid “benefited from racial discrimination”
There is evidence that people belonging to ethnic minorities were at greater risk from Covid during the pandemic.
https://www.guilded.gg/maxabi18s-Red-Sox/overview/news/gy8JzAMl
https://www.guilded.gg/vatare78s-Bulldogs/overview/news/9yWwajky
https://groups.google.com/g/lacasagucci/c/754gPK5vFWc
https://groups.google.com/g/lacasagucci/c/kfoB2dIYDvs
https://groups.google.com/g/lacasagucci/c/ljaPCCrwkzI
https://wakelet.com/wake/TndR5dQMqt2lmqFeliZgL
https://wakelet.com/wake/-4QMuBOFMaXPAUTep8CD7
https://wakelet.com/wake/zck6qaiKvUMHxen91vBp5
https://www.guilded.gg/La-casa-Guccis-Cubs/overview/news/xypeqGnR
A study published last year showed that blacks were twice as likely to get coronavirus as whites. Research found that people of Asian descent were 1.5 times more likely to be infected than their white counterparts.
Mr. Javid said, “It’s easy to look at a machine and assume that everyone is having the same experience.
“But technology is created and developed by humans, so bias, even if it’s unintentional, can be an issue here too.”
He added, “One of the core tenets of our NHS is equality, and the possibility that bias – even accidental – could lead to poorer health outcomes is totally unacceptable.”
An independent chairman to lead the review has yet to be appointed, but initial results are expected by the end of January.
Earlier this year, an NHS report recommended an urgent review of pulse oximeter use, with experts saying they work less well in people with darker skin.
https://wakelet.com/wake/kIn4esZgCXWQH8sVvNAdX
https://wakelet.com/wake/ZRuTEGlm8jl5NAGMdxTVj
https://wakelet.com/wake/aU0WB1nwBNMLv5iewMKow
https://wakelet.com/wake/eQL_hSXzUMmaND-sm6jn8
https://wakelet.com/wake/tRi2kE0oS8Ul3WF62IwV2
https://wakelet.com/wake/ISP9z3y0wIZGVNt_Csloe
https://wakelet.com/wake/tRi2kE0oS8Ul3WF62IwV2
https://groups.google.com/g/dom-gucci/c/t2xzU9eWzzA
https://groups.google.com/g/dom-gucci/c/Vw1vQ8CxgaQ
https://groups.google.com/g/dom-gucci/c/hdFCth3nlTw
https://www.guilded.gg/kastelias-Aces/overview/news/Gl5V7AB6
The devices emit light through the blood, and pigmentation on the skin can affect light absorption, said the NHS England and the Medicines Agency MHRA.
The guidelines for patients from black, Asian, and other ethnic minority groups have been updated. You should continue to use pulse oximeters but seek advice from a doctor.