New survey shows physicians recognize health disparities and address them in their practices

Apr 27 2005

Many of the nation's physicians are now involved in the effort to eliminate racial and ethnic health care disparities, according to a recent survey released by the Commission to End Health Care Disparities.

The national survey, conducted by the American Medical Association's Institute for Ethics, is part of the commission's first comprehensive survey to measure physicians' awareness and actions regarding health care disparities. The survey suggests that many physicians recognize inequality in health care and are working to address disparities in their own practices.

"Physicians across the country are committed to providing every patient with the highest quality health care," said AMA President John C. Nelson, MD, MPH. "There is a great deal of work to be done to end health care disparities, but this survey is encouraging. It shows that physicians of all races are eager to learn how they can do more to eliminate disparities in medical care."

The survey found that 55 percent of physicians believe that minority patients generally receive a lower quality of care than non-minority patients. Fortunately, 75 percent of physicians report that they are in a good position to improve the quality of care that minority patients receive and many physicians participate in quality improvement efforts. The survey reports that:

54 percent of physicians have read a journal article to learn more about improving care for minority patients in the last six months;

32 percent of physicians have discussed strategies to address the specific health care needs of minority patients with their colleagues within the past month;

19 percent of physicians have attended an educational seminar to improve the health of minority patients within the last six months.

"Past studies have indicated that physicians thought health disparities were unrelated to their own work, or were caused by social factors that physicians couldn't impact," said Gary Puckrein, PhD, executive director of the National Minority Health Month Foundation. "This survey shows a significant evolution in this attitude."

"This survey strongly suggests that momentum among physicians is growing strong to improve the health and health care of racial and ethnic minority patients," said Randall W. Maxey, MD, PhD, Immediate Past President of the National Medical Association and co-chair of the commission. "The commission can now build on this momentum by providing physicians with the tools and resources they need to make an impact on health care disparities."

Nearly 2,000 physicians participated in the survey, and the respondents included many physicians who practice in communities with a high proportion of minority patients. The survey results were presented today as part of the National Minority Health Month Foundation's Second Annual Leadership Summit on Health Disparities in Washington, D.C.

The Commission to End Health Care Disparities, comprised of leaders from the nation's largest physicians' organizations and health-related groups, works to educate physicians and health professionals about health care disparities while identifying and developing strategies to eliminate gaps in care based on race and ethnicity.

More information on the survey is available online at www.ama-assn.org/go/healthdisparities