Implicit Bias in Healthcare: Addressing Healthcare Disparities and Promoting Equity (March 2023)

Implicit Bias in Healthcare: Addressing Healthcare Disparities and Promoting Equity

Implicit bias is the bias in judgment and behavior resulting from subtle cognitive processes operating below the level of conscious awareness and control. Implicit bias leads to stereotyping and adverse treatment of people. Adverse treatment of people can create a hostile workplace. A healthcare professional’s implicit bias affects treatment decisions, care delivery, treatment adherence, and healthcare outcomes. This session will highlight the impact of implicit bias on healthcare outcomes and the healthcare professional’s role in promoting healthcare equity. Speaker will discuss evidence-based approaches to recognizing implicit bias. Attendees will identify practical strategies to dismantle implicit bias to create an inclusive workplace culture and promote healthcare outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

  • Define implicit bias and discuss various factors related to implicit bias.
  • Synthesize the evidence related to implicit bias and healthcare outcomes.
  • Recognize personal biases and identify strategies to dismantle implicit bias.

Letha Joseph, DNP, AGNP-BC, FFNMRCSI, FAANP

Letha Joseph, DNP, AGNP-BC, FFNMRCSI, FAANP, is a nurse practitioner at the Durham VA Healthcare System, North Carolina. She serves as the director of the VA Office of Academic Affiliation's Geriatric and Extended Care NP (GEC NP ) residency program at the Durham VA and as the program manager for Peri-operative Optimization of Senior Health Program. She is a consulting associate/ clinical faculty at Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, NC.

  • 0.5 CME
  • 0.5 CMD Management
  • 0.5 MOC

Release Date: 03/29/2023   |   Expiration: 03/01/2026

Credit Statements:

Accreditation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

CME Designation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CMD Credit Hours: This CME activity has been pre-approved by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) for up to 0.5 management hours toward certification or recertification as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in post-acute and long-term care medicine. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit actually spent on the activity.

The CMD Program is administered by the ABPLM. Each physician should claim only those credit hours that he/she actually spent in the activity. For further information, contact ABPLM at 410-992-3117 or at cmd@paltmed.org.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC): Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 0.5 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Financial Disclosure Statement:

The Association requires the disclosure of all speaker/faculty/planner’s relevant financial relationships; presence of off-label use of a device or medication; and discussion of any experimental, new or evolving topic prior to each accredited education activity.

If the learner perceives any bias toward a commercial product or service, advocation of unscientific approaches to diagnosis or therapy, or recommendation, treatment, or manners of practicing healthcare that are determined to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients please report this to the Association's staff.


The following speaker(s) disclosed relevant financial relationship(s): 

  • Julie Gammack, MD, CMD (Planner & Speaker): Stockholder: Amarin
  • Kenya Rivas Velasquez, MD, CMD, FAAFP (Planner & Speaker): OptumRx: Stockholder
  • All other planners, speakers, and AMDA staff have no relationships with ineligible companies.

All relevant financial relationships have been identified and mitigated.

Components visible upon registration.