Racial bias on the part of a doctor can lead to poor communication and medical treatment for black cancer patients, a U.S. study suggests.
Researchers who analyzed video-recorded discussions between oncologists and African-American patients found that biased doctors spent less time with patients, and patients had a harder time remembering the contents of the conversation.
Many people have some level of implicit racial bias, and doctors are no different, said lead author Louis A. Penner of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan.
