Depression is more likely to be diagnosed in women and more educated patients. Race influences hospitalization rates for asthma. Physicians vary widely in providing heart disease prevention services to their patients. Outcomes of knee replacement surgery for elderly patients are much improved when performed in more experienced hospitals. Elderly heart attack patients with multiple health problems do not receive thrombolytic medication as promptly as other patients.
American hospitals vary greatly in their commitment to improvements in quality of care.
Black Medicare patients hospitalized for heart failure or pneumonia may not receive the same care as white Medicare recipients. These are just a few examples from the medical literature of health care practices that result in outcome disparities. This is not to suggest these findings are the result of inherent bias or prejudice. When confronted with data on health outcomes, physicians do change their medical practices. Evidence-based medicine can provide the template for changes in medical practice that physicians can effect now.