By Lauren Means • Photo Courtesy Dr. Dorsha James
Most of how one feels about America’s healthcare system stems from past experiences and dealings within the system. There’s a lot of distrust, frustration, anger and even hopelessness in our current healthcare model. This can be a result of misdiagnoses, having symptoms and concerns brushed off, financial repercussions and even outright discrimination.
While we have a ways to go before the system is repaired, changes can start with providers who directly interact with patients daily. One of these doctors looking to make changes is Dr. Dorsha N. James. She’s been in the medical field for over a decade and has had experience from both sides of the hospital bed. One of those experiences is what led her to pursue a career in medicine.
“In 1991, my healthy and vibrant grandmother found herself in the ICU on a ventilator battling a lung disease. She had spent at least three weeks there when her ICU physician had to deliver bad news to our family — the matriarch of our family had a matter of days to weeks to live. As if the news wasn’t bad enough, the delivery was even worse,” recalled Dr. James.
The physician didn’t appear to have any compassion for her family considering that he gave them possibly the worst news of their life. Dr. James told herself that day if she ever became a doctor, she’d make sure her bedside manner was one that gained her patient’s trust. “From that day forward, I did everything in my power to become a physician,” said Dr. James.
Frontline
Dr. James has had the opportunity to care for patients across all spectrums — from the poor to the wealthy, the healthy to the ill, different races, creeds, religious beliefs and sexuality. The disparities in public healthcare, especially for black and brown people who fare worse than their white counterparts as it relates to health, healthcare and health equity, is what drove her toward emergency medicine.
“As an ER physician, I’ve had the unique opportunity to diagnose, order and treat patients based on their [clinical] presentation instead of their race, religion, sexual orientation, pronouns, demographics, or socioeconomic status. As a matter of fact, this is the reason why I chose emergency medicine,” she explained. “It afforded me the opportunity to serve without having to worry about a lot of the disparities that exist in healthcare.”
She remembers when she started her residency, attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community were a lot different than they are now. “I know that we have a LONG way to go, however, I can remember some of my colleagues making statements such as ‘He was born a man, I don’t care what he wants me to call him, I’m going to say him,’” she recounted. That didn’t sit well with her. Fast forward to 2022 and she’s noticed that people are becoming more sensitive to the use of the proper pronouns for individuals. “I am grateful to see that people, especially those in the medical field, are evolving.”
To make a dent in the inequalities in America’s healthcare, Dr. James believes that, although it may not be a popular opinion, we are going to have to have some form of universal healthcare. “Disparities will continue to exist when people cannot afford to get care,” she said. Healthcare disparities are multifactorial, however, addressing the healthcare crisis and the cost of medical care is a good start toward change.
From Bedside to Business Owner
Dr. James took on a new role of CEO in March 2019 when she founded her business myURGENCYMD. This journey was different from her path to becoming a physician. She said, “I always say that starting a business has been harder for me than medical school ever was! Ok, maybe not that hard, but definitely up there.” There was a sharp learning curve for her to understand the inner workings of becoming a CEO and knowing medicine does not translate to knowing how to run a business.
“Just when I thought I had things figured out, COVID hit and my business went through the roof. As a telemedicine company, we went from services that a lot of people didn’t know much about to a household name in just a matter of weeks,” she said. This started a whole new level of learning as her business was beginning to turn a profit and that brought about more responsibilities — fiscally and administratively. Dr. James said, “We hired a few people to help take some of the load off of us and I enrolled in a course with a cohort of small business owners that helps prepare and sustain business growth. I must say it has been fun and challenging.”
Services like myURGENCYMD help underserved communities and assist in breaking down barriers to healthcare for many populations. The cost of healthcare is often cited as a primary reason people avoid
going to the doctor. Going to the ER or even an urgent care clinic for minor illnesses can be very expensive. Despite this, the ER has, in a way, become the primary caregiver to people who otherwise don’t have access to healthcare. Some ERs might be the only place where you can be seen without having to pay prior to your visit.
“When I worked in the ER, I noticed that a lot of the uninsured and underinsured were using the ER as their only alternative to obtaining healthcare. And that’s even if some of those cases could have easily been handled at home or at an urgent care clinic,” stated Dr. James.
That’s what is great about a service like myURGENCYMD — it provides healthcare at a very affordable price. The service is able to provide services for up to seven family members for the same price so a whole household can have healthcare at an affordable cost. Dr. James is grateful to be the one to help, “I am so happy that I have been afforded the opportunity to be able to provide this service for families and individuals. It is something that is desperately needed in this climate.”
