The following is a concise summary of the text:
The text is a transcript of a segment from the show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he discusses the issue of bias in medicine, especially how it affects women and people of color. He cites various studies and examples that show how doctors may have inaccurate or harmful beliefs about different groups of patients, and how that can lead to misdiagnosis, under-treatment, or worse. He also suggests some possible solutions, such as bias training, more diversity in the medical field, and standardizing care. He then invites comedian Wanda Sykes to join him and offer some humorous advice on how to deal with biased doctors, such as bringing a white man to repeat your symptoms or asking to speak to a supervisor. The summary ends with a link to a website where people can find more messages from Wanda's white friend Larry.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Doctors are rated as the number one profession in the US.
2. Historically, women's bodies have been misunderstood and subject to misconceptions in the medical field.
3. Women are less likely to be referred for knee replacements than men if they are over 50 and critically ill.
4. Women are less likely to receive life-saving interventions than men when critically ill.
5. Women are less likely to receive pain medicine when going to the ER with urgent abdominal pain.
6. Doctors may attribute women's symptoms, especially pain, to emotional imbalance or hysteria.
7. Women were excluded from medical research trials for decades, partly due to concerns about their menstrual cycles complicating results.
8. Medical textbooks have historically been biased, with some assuming that women are just men with "pesky hormones".
9. The US has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world.
10. Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women in the US.
11. Racial disparities in healthcare exist even when controlling for socio-economic factors like education or insurance status.
12. Black patients are 34% less likely to be prescribed opioids for pain than white patients with similar conditions.
13. California has reduced its rate of women dying in childbirth by more than half since 2006 by implementing protocols for maternal care.
14. Standardizing care and bias training for doctors and med students can help address disparities in healthcare.
15. Increasing diversity in the medical field can also help address these disparities.