Black women, however, are 13 percent less likely to get the heart test. Oh, not quite as bad as we were led to believe. One could easily argue that the whole study is suspect. This was one of those social science studies that is removed from daily reality. There is far better evidence for the virulence of the medical racism virus in this nation.
Black doctors are also five times more likely to be general practitioners than specialists.
These are figures gathered by the National Medical Association, a group representing African-American doctors. If these figures cannot be seen as an inevitable guidepost to the likelihood of medical bias against black men and women, nothing will do the job. Health professionals shouldn't bother waiting to read any fresh study results or possibly adjust their introspection on the basis of a correction of a study in the medical literature. The White House shouldn't only hold conferences after a medical journal publishes a red-flag study about racism in medicine. Everyone involved in health care should assume the medical racism virus is alive and well in America and should get on with the battle to nuke it.