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How Patient Descriptors Influence Racial Bias in the Electronic Health Record
On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Michael Sun, a medical student at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, who served as first author of a Health Affairs study showing that race and bias were significantly associated with negative patient descriptors in the electronic health record.
Although racism and bias have been long documented issues affecting health equity, findings of a recent study published in Health Affairs indicates these issues may be more embedded in the US health care system than originally thought.
Examining electronic health records (EHRs) from an urban academic medical center, researchers found that negative descriptors were significantly more likely to appear in the records of Black patients compared with White patients. Other factors—such as insurance type, marriage status, and even the COVID-19 pandemic—influenced the odds of having this potentially stigmatizing language appear in a patient’s EHR.
On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the first author on the study, Michael Sun, a medical student at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago, on the findings, as well as the steps that can be taken to increase awareness among clinicians of these stigmatizing descriptors.
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Despite Record ACA Enrollment, Report Reveals Underinsured Americans are in Crisis
November 21st 2024Despite significant progress in expanding health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted, millions of Americans still face critical gaps in access and affordability to health care.
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Exploring Racial, Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Care Prior Authorization Decisions
October 24th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the author of a study published in the October 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® that explored prior authorization decisions in cancer care by race and ethnicity for commercially insured patients.
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Surgeon General Calls for Action on Tobacco Use, Outcomes Disparities
November 19th 2024The new report from US Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, highlights persistent disparities in tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure, calling for equitable strategies to achieve a tobacco-free future.
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Racial Inequities in Guideline-Adherent Breast Cancer Care and Timely Treatment
November 19th 2024Older non-Hispanic Black adults with early-stage breast cancer are less likely to receive timely treatment and guideline-concordant care, increasing their risk of death compared with non-Hispanic White women.
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