Black patients are less satisfied with care from doctors who show unintentional bias. Highly segregated areas have disparities in lung cancer death rates, research shows.
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Scooped by
Dr Veronica Anderson
onto Doctor Data January 28, 2013 5:45 PM
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I've seen this play out in practice. Even African-American patients who are highly educated and well insured receive biased treatment. The result is poorer outcomes in health even for the most diligent patient being cared for by a biased doctor.
Previous studies have found that lower patient satisfaction scores are correlated with poorer outcomes on a wide range of metrics, such as medication adherence and hospital readmissions. There is still no proven way to combat the unconscious biases that can undermine some doctors’ relationships with black patients, said Irene V. Blair, PhD, lead author of the Denver study.