PHOTO ILLUSTRATION PHOTOS BY UNSPLASH ; WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ; NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ; EBONY MAGAZINE |
In October 2018 she launched HUED as a web-based directory for people of color who are looking for doctors of color . The idea gained momentum quickly , and by March 2019 , Wilson , who had no healthcare background or previous experience in tech entrepreneurship , was speaking about it at SXSW , a hybrid conference-festival .
“ When I started HUED , all of my experience , from legal to social justice to media , culminated in an interesting and unique way ,” says Wilson , who graduated from Howard University School of Law and worked as an adjunct professor and content strategist before launching the platform . “ Entrepreneurship is just telling stories in a different capacity .”
This past August , HUED announced that it had raised $ 1.6 million in seed funding , led by Female Founders Fund . Other participants in the seed round include Serena Williams ’ s Serena Ventures , Osage Venture Partners , Northwestern Mutual , Black Founders Matter , and GingerBread Capital . The response has been tremendous , and patients regularly send messages saying how thankful they are for the connections they ’ ve made .
They also are able to show where the gaps are . When HUED users in North Dakota and Idaho pointed out that they still couldn ’ t find a doctor , it became clear that outside major metro areas , Black doctors were a rarity .
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2.6 % of doctors in the United States were Black as of 2019 .
ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN MEDICAL COLLEGES ( AAMC )
243 % Increased likelihood of dying from childbirth complications in the United States if you ' re Black .
PROPUBLICA AND NPR
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As of 2019 , only 2.6 % of doctors and 7.3 % of medical students in the United States were Black .
Wilson ’ s hope is simple : to one day live in a world where every patient receives the same quality of healthcare . Part of that is access to technology , which isn ’ t lost on the tech healthcare startup founder .
“ Even at HUED , we ’ re speaking from a place of privilege because we know a majority of communities don ’ t have access to the internet yet .”
Today , the web-based application has over 8,000 patients registered , and Wilson plans to launch a mobile app in 2022 . But as innovative as it is as a directory , it won ’ t fix the root issue of widespread healthcare inequity .
To combat unconscious bias , the platform is now offering digital training and education programs — for both learning and unlearning — to medical professionals . The curriculum involves critical race theory , implicit bias , and providing culturally sensitive care . In the future , Wilson plans to include not only doctors of color in the directory , but all providers who have completed HUED training and whose practices are considered culturally competent .
“ It ’ s problematic to tell people of color that the only way to get great care is with a POC provider ,” says Wilson . “ Every provider should be qualified to deal with POC communities .”
— Hillary Richard
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