In this week's episode of ER , an African-American male comes into the emergency room suffering from poor leg circulation and doctors decide that he must have his leg amputated. It is implied that the man's race played a role in his ultimate health care outcome. Unfortunately, the healthcare system is not immune to the prejudices that exist in our society. Racial disparities are present in almost all areas of health care from service utilization and access issues to quality of care and overall health outcomes. The following provides additional information on race and health care as well as links to related sites.
Racial disparities do exist in healthcare.
It is difficult, however, to truly decipher the frequency with which it occurs and the reasons for why it occurs. Research has found that access to health care, utilization of services and the overall quality of care are the major areas in which racial disparities are most evident. Minorities access to primary care and treatment for specific conditions is noticeably restrictive. Whites, on average, have a much higher health status than minorities. Take, for example, the black population - research has shown that blacks live sicker and die younger than all other population groups.