How much does your skin color matter when you seek medical care? The answer is pretty distressing.
A recent study that looked at post-surgical pain relief, for example, found that Black patients were 74% more likely to be prescribed opioids for their recovery period – without regard to their effectiveness – than white patients. White patients, in comparison, were likely to be given “multimodal” analgesia, which targeted their pain in four or more ways. This sort of revelation is hardly surprising to anybody who has paid attention to the implicit biases found in health care when it comes to people of color.
Implicit bias runs rampant in modern health care
Implicit bias in medicine involves the unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that influence decision-making by medical providers. Racial biases, whether intentional or not, can lead to:
- Undertreatment: Some doctors may underestimate the severity of pain or symptoms in Black or Hispanic patients.
- Delayed diagnoses: Providers may be slower to order diagnostic tests or referrals for patients of color, leading to missed or late diagnoses.
- Less aggressive treatment plans: Minority patients may not receive the same quality of care or access to advanced treatments as white patients.
For example, doctors may believe that Black or other minority patients are more likely to be “drug-seeking” than their white counterparts, which can lead to inadequate pain management and prolonged suffering for some of their patients. Such biases can also lead to more diagnostic errors and adverse outcomes for Blacks and Hispanics.
While race should never factor into the quality of health care that a patient receives, it happens too often. Misdiagnoses, delayed care and undertreatment can all lead to adverse outcomes. When that happens to you or someone you love, you have every right to seek legal redress.