Does the Race/Ethnicity or Gender of a Physician's Name Impact Patient Selection of the Physician?

Abstract

This study's objective was to examine the extent to which individuals exhibit a preference for physicians based upon the race/ethnicity and gender of a physician's name. We conducted an online survey of 915 adults, who viewed a comparative display of four physicians' quality performance. We randomized the name of one physician, whose quality performance was equal to that of one physician and better than two other physicians, to be either typically African American male, African American female, white male, white female, or Middle Eastern (gender ambiguous). In regression models, participants more frequently selected the physician with the randomized name when displayed with a white male name, compared to when presented with an African American male, African American female, or Middle Eastern name (ORs ranging from .59 to .64). White and male study participants exhibited this pattern, while racial/ethnic minority participants did not. If the hypothetical choice bias observed here translates to people's actual selection of physicians, it could be a contributing factor for why women and racial/ethnic minority physicians have lower incomes than white male physicians.