Yes, Medical Journals Are Going Woke

Since Do No Harm launched in April, the biggest backers of woke healthcare have responded by denying their radical intentions – and even hiding their divisive and discriminatory actions. Now one of the most prominent medical journals, Health Affairs, is trying the same trick.

In April, our chairman, Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, called out medical journals for being “complicit in the crusade” to embed identity politics and other woke ideas into healthcare. On May 15th, Health Affairs’ editor-in-chief emailed the following to Dr. Goldfarb:

Dear Dr. Goldfarb:

I read your WSJ editorial of April 18, 2022, with interest. In it, after referencing Health Affairs, you make the following statement: “They’re also bringing race and other nonacademic factors into the peer-review process, threatening the scientific analysis on which physician practice and patient health depend.” I wonder if you could provide me with any evidence to support this claim.

Sincerely,
Alan Weil
Health Affairs
Editor-in-Chief
he/him

This email is remarkable. It completely ignores a recent Health Affairs article authored by the editor-in-chief himself: “Tracking Author Demographics to Increase Equitable Participation.” Dr. Goldfarb reminded Mr. Weil of his piece in an email response.

The article states that Health Affairs now “require[s] authors and reviewers to respond to questions about their race, ethnicity, and gender.” It will use this information to, among other things, select “peer reviewers for certain papers and ensur[e] diversity in specific activities, including commissioned writing, events, content planning, and fellowship opportunities.”

Using race, ethnicity, and gender to commission writing, select peer reviewers, and offer fellowships is the definition of “bringing race and other nonacademic factors into the peer-review process.” Furthermore, it detracts from medical journals’ mission of publishing the best research, which is becoming a secondary goal after “diversity.” 

Physicians and patients alike will suffer from the ideological corruption of medical journals. It’s disturbing that Health Affairs’ leadership has either forgotten what it’s doing or doesn’t want to admit it.