The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is a peer-reviewed journal for the largest association of physicians in the United States. The association has nearly a quarter of a million members, and the journal publishes a number of specialty journals and podcasts. Its footprint in medicine is extensive, so it was newsworthy this week when the Journal’s editor-in-chief was placed on administrative leave following comments in a JAMA podcast made by an associate editor denying that structural racism in medicine exists. The podcast has been withdrawn as the Editor-in-chief released a statement acknowledging that structural racism exists in the U.S. and in healthcare.

There already exists extensive evidence that American of color receive different medical treatment than white Americans. Medical equipment may be designed with a bias in favor of white skin, and pervasive health care algorithms have demonstrated that on the average, a person of color needs to be “sicker” to receive the same level of care as a white person.

Why does this matter? Well, it’s kind of silly to be asking that question in the first place, isn’t it? The last year has seen a tremendous reckoning in our society’s approach to race. And many conversations are being had that should have been had years ago. The JAMA podcast about structural racism is just one small example of that. While nearly all physicians would (rightly) claim in public and private to harbor no racist thoughts, that’s simply not enough as an individual to compensate for centuries of medical system infrastructure that have led us to today.

So, while it is exceedingly difficult to prove a case of medical malpractice is due to racial bias, it does in fact exist in some facet of a lot of patients’ care. And acknowledging that it exists, and has existed for decades, and will take effort to overcome, is a goal medicine should aspire to. We will all be better for it.