It’s about disparities…..

For physicians, it is critical to understand one’s own underlying assumptions and behaviors. Even though the values of the health care profession are inherently at odds with prejudice, there are many documented cases in which cultural assumptions and norms influence physician judgment:

• Black females are significantly less likely to be recommended for catheterization procedures when presenting with the same symptoms as black males or white males or females

• Male physicians prescribe twice the level of analgesics for white patients as for black

• Physicians rated black patients lower in intelligence and education and more likely to be drug abusers even when controlling for education, income, and personal characteristics^[1]

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