Abstract
Purpose: The clinical utility of race and ethnicity has been debated. It is important to understand if and how race and ethnicity are communicated and collected in clinical settings. We investigated physicians' self-reported methods of collecting a patient's race and ethnicity in the clinical encounter, their comfort with collecting race and ethnicity, and associations with use of race in clinical decision-making.Methods: A national cross-sectional study of 787 clinically active general internists in the United States. Physicians' self-reported comfort with collecting patient race and ethnicity, their collection practices, and use of race in clinical care were assessed. Bivariate and multivariable regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between comfort, collection practices, and use of race.Results: Most physicians asked patients to self-report their race or ethnicity (26.5%) on an intake form or collected this information directly from patients (26.2%). Most physicians were comfortable collecting patient race and ethnicity (84.3%). Physicians who were more comfortable collecting patient race and ethnicity (β=1.65; [95% confidence interval; CI 0.03–3.28]) or who directly collected patients' race and ethnicity (β=1.24 [95% CI 0.07–2.41]) were more likely to use race in clinical decision-making than physicians who were uncomfortable.Conclusions: This study documents variation in physician comfort level and practice patterns regarding patient race and ethnicity data collection. As the U.S. population becomes more diverse, future work should examine how physicians speak about race and ethnicity with patients and their use of race and ethnicity data impact patient–physician relationships, clinical decision-making, and patient outcomes.
Highlights
Race and ethnicity, along with a battery of other demographic data, are used by insurers, healthcare organizations, and clinicians as a means of monitoring quality of care and identifying and addressing healthcare inequities.[1,2] Patient race and ethnicity are used by clinicians in decision-making for prescribing medications (e.g., Isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine, Carbamazepine, and ACE inhibitors),[3,4,5] ordering diagnostic tests,[6,7] and determining when to a Vence L
Using data from a national survey of general internists, we found that more than half of the sample either asked patients to selfreport their race or ethnicity on an intake form or collected this information directly from patients during the clinical encounter
We found in this study that physicians who used perceptionbased collection of data on patient race and ethnicity were more likely to use race in clinical care
Summary
Along with a battery of other demographic data, are used by insurers, healthcare organizations, and clinicians as a means of monitoring quality of care and identifying and addressing healthcare inequities.[1,2] Patient race and ethnicity are used by clinicians in decision-making for prescribing medications (e.g., Isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine, Carbamazepine, and ACE inhibitors),[3,4,5] ordering diagnostic tests (e.g., lung function and coronary heart disease),[6,7] and determining when to a Vence L. Self-identified race and ethnicity (SIRE) are used as a surrogate for other information, such as culture and social experiences.[10,11,12,13,14,15]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
