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COVID-19 news from Annals of Internal Medicine

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American College of Physicians

Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at http://go.annals.org/coronavirus.

ACP Proposes Policies and Action to Confront Systemic Racism, Discrimination and Injustices in Health and Law Enforcement

ACP Commits to Being an Anti-Racist Organization, Says Racism Is a Public Health Issue

@acpinternists, @annalsofim

The American College of Physicians (ACP) believes there is an urgent need to speak out on the ongoing racism and violence that are regularly directed at Black individuals and other people of color in the United States, including racism and violence committed by law enforcement, and that ongoing racism continues to be an urgent public health issue requiring systemic change. In a new policy paper published today, ACP condemns the injustices and harms experienced by Black individuals and other people of color as a result of racism and details the ways that pervasive systemic racism, discrimination, and violence throughout society have adverse individual and community health consequences. ACP reaffirms and commits to expanding on its previous policies to confront racial and ethnic disparities, discrimination and racism in health, and offers new recommendations to address racism in law enforcement and its impact on public health.

ACP's new policy is supported by an extensive review of the evidence of how racism and discrimination in health care and in law enforcement, are public health issues. The policy offers specific ideas "as a starting point" to address institutional discrimination, racism and bias in law enforcement, an issue that ACP has not previously addressed in policy papers and advocacy. The positions offer suggested solutions to increase transparency and accountability, and to adopt best practices that encourage safer law enforcement practices and reduce violent interactions with civilians. Read the full text: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-4195.

Media contacts: A PDF for this article is not yet available. Please click the link to read full text. To speak with someone from ACP, please contact Jacquelyn Blaser at jblaser@acponline.org.

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