Black-only medical directory must open to all races after lawsuit

By Tate Miller
The Center Square

After a lawsuit from medical group Do No Harm, a Philadelphia-based directory of Black physicians is now open to all races.

The directory entitled “Black Doctors Directory” also changed its name to the “Community Health and Wellness Directory” following the lawsuit, according to the accepted offer of judgment.

Chairman of Do No Harm Dr. Stanley Goldfarb said in a statement: “We are grateful that the directory is open to physicians of all races.”

Do No Harm is an organization of “physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice,” according to its website.

“Do No Harm has long opposed ‘racial concordance,’ a thoroughly debunked theory that only breeds suspicion and prejudice,” Goldfarb said.

As stated by Do No Harm, racial concordance is the belief that patients are best treated by a doctor of the same race.

“When medical providers prioritize expertise and high-quality care, patients will see better health outcomes,” Goldfarb said.

According to the case’s accepted offer of judgment, the directory “shall only publicize” itself under its new name “or an equally raceneutral name” and is “equally open to physicians regardless of race.”

“When determining whether to add a physician to the directory, Defendants will consider any licensed physician in the greater Philadelphia area who demonstrates a commitment to treating patients and communities historically and currently underserved,” the judgment said.

“Defendants will determine whether a physician meets those criteria without inquiring about or considering the physician’s race,” the judgment said.

Those sued by Do No Harm include WURD Radio, Penn Medicine and the Consortium of DEI Health Educators.

When asked for comment, neither WURD, University of Pennsylvania media relations, nor the Consortium Dedicated to Health Equity Education responded.

WURD radio, an African-American owned talk radio station in Philadelphia, released a statement saying it is glad the litigation has ended and that it “remains committed to advancing health equity by making quality health-related information accessible to as many as possible.”

When reached, Do No Harm referred The Center Square to its previous reports related to racial concordance that “point to the discrimination” the idea encourages in the healthcare system.

In one report, Do No Harm wrote that racial concordance ”amounts to the return of segregation of medicine, sowing seeds of distrust between physicians and patients of different races.”

“That is a recipe for even worse health outcomes for members of every race – the exact opposite of what racial concordance’s proponents seek.

Given the lack of concrete evidence in favor of racially matched medical care, “it is irresponsible for medical organizations and political actors to push, in practice or policy, for racial concordance in medicine, with the attendant radical restructuring of healthcare along racial lines,” the report said.