Recent reports have revealed that healthcare inequality is not limited to socioeconomic status, but also to race. The National Medical Association (NMA) president Dr. Rodney Hood, points out that 35% more blacks than the general population die from cancer, and 40% more die from heart disease each year. This is a direct result of medical professionals lack of attention and mistreatment of minority patients. A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine reported of inequality due to race. Eight actors were hired to go to a hospital and complain of the same heart problems. It was then up to the physicians to refer the patient/actor for catherization. This study showed that physicians were less likely to refer the African American patients for further treatment then their other white patients.The American Cancer Society reported that African American women have a higher death rate due to breast cancer, 22% higher then white women. However, a study published in A Cancer Journal for Clinicians concluded that African American breast cancer patients had similar outcomes to white patients when their treatment and follow-up care were equal and appropriate for their condition. This proves that the reason for the 22% difference in outcome lies not with simple biological differences between races, but with inequality in the medical field.Medical racism is not widely brought to the medias attention; nevertheless it is a huge problem with not only African Americans but also other minority groups. Dr. Fiscella reports that Latino and Asian Americans receive fewer mammograms, papanicolaou tests, influenza vaccinations, less prenatal care, fewer cardiovascular procedures, and less trauma care.Dr. Fiscella emphasizes a few principles for addressing disparities. First and foremost the disparities must be recognized as a problem. Second, and recently adopted by the Department of Health and Human Services all data collection and report...
