Massachusetts physicians must meet new implicit bias training requirement

Beginning June 1, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine is requiring all physicians applying for or renewing a medical license to undergo two hours of training on implicit bias (i.e., the unconscious prejudices and mistaken beliefs an individual may hold toward gender, race, ethnicity, or culture).

Seven other states, such as Connecticut and Michigan, already require physicians to undergo training in implicit bias or cultural competency. In Massachusetts, the two hours of implicit bias instruction need not be on top of the 50 hours physicians must already undergo to renew their licenses every two years, rather the implicit training can be counted toward those hours.

Studies have shown that implicit biases have unintentionally resulted in poorer quality of healthcare for minority groups, such as receiving lower doses of pain medication and slower diagnoses for appendicitis. A 2003 Institute of Medicine report also showed that racial and ethnic minorities received worse healthcare due to, in part, explicit and implicit biases.

Source: The Boston Globe