DEI Invades the Bleeding Edge of the Medical Industry

An event aimed at elevating a healthcare business model is promoting sponsorships and scholarships specifically intended to advance the radical left-wing ideology of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The September event, called the 2024 Hint Summit, is hosted by Hint Health, a software company operating in the direct primary care (DPC) space, and will feature clinicians and industry leaders. DPC is a growing business model in the healthcare industry in which patients pay regular fees directly to their physician or practice in exchange for a wide array of medical services.

Yet, while Hint describes the summit as DPC’s “premier innovation event of the year,” the summit seems to have full-throatedly embraced regressive identity politics. 

For instance, the summit advertises “DEI Scholarships” on the event’s main page.

“Hint Summit has a limited number of scholarships available for residents and under-represented groups,” the scholarship listing reads.

While it’s unclear if the scholarships explicitly exclude certain applicants based on their race, the image advertising the scholarships includes two black physicians and one Asian physician.

Moreover, Hint is soliciting “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” sponsors to support the event, according to a prospectus on Hint’s website. In exchange for publicity at the event, these sponsors will pay $1,500 for a member of an “underrepresented” group to attend the summit.

“In an effort to promote inclusivity, we are inviting members from underrepresented groups who would benefit from attending the 2024 Hint Summit and are looking for sponsors to contribute to cover their cost to attend,” the prospectus reads.

The summit also encourages members of “historically underrepresented” groups, such as “people of color” and LGBTQ+ individuals, to attend the event.

Regardless of their intentions, a medical company should not be rewarding people simply based on their skin color. Organizations in the medical field should strive to recruit and promote the most talented individuals possible, rather than awarding scholarships to groups they deem “underrepresented.” 

This unfairly puts otherwise deserving individuals at a disadvantage due to their immutable characteristics.

Despite its professed embrace of divisive concepts like DEI, the event’s goal is to help make the DPC model more “mainstream.”

“[W]e will bring together DPC Clinicians of all shapes and sizes, industry leaders, stakeholders and ecosystem partners to create a path towards furthering the Direct Primary Care landscape and bringing DPC across the threshold of mainstream healthcare,” the event page states.

Jettisoning regressive ideas like DEI and abandoning practices such as offering preferential treatment to individuals based on their race would go a long way to achieving that end.

Unfortunately, the medical field’s embrace of DEI is well-documented. 

Do No Harm has repeatedly exposed major medical associations’ attempts to advance the DEI agenda.

It seems even the more niche corners of the industry are no exception.