Jul 08

Doctors’ race bias

April 22, 2008 | Here’s something the medical community has known for a long time: Minorities in this country, particularly African-Americans, are not as healthy as whites. They suffer from high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, cancer, asthma and other chronic illnesses.

There are many reasons for the disparities. Blacks have less access to healthcare. Many lack health insurance altogether. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that black communities have fewer primary care doctors, and that those doctors reported a harder time getting their patients quality services due to insurance restrictions.