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Anti-bias training to be required for health care licenses

UPMC Shadyside Hospital Room by rwoan is licensed with CC BY-NC 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

New anti-bias rules were made official Tuesday by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The rules require licensed or registered health professionals to undergo training to help recognize and weed out implicit bias.

 

Governor Gretchen Whitmer traveled to a health clinic to announce the rules are finalized. She said the pandemic in Michigan is being tamed, but the COVID-19 crisis laid bare disparities in who has access to the best health care, and the experience offered some lessons. 

“As we work to eliminate COVID, we still have to continue thinking about how to close gaps in our health care system and ensure every Michigander has access to high-quality health care, free from systemic bias.”

The new rules take effect a year from now. The governor says that will give health care providers time to find or create approved training programs.