The Implications for Medical Misdiagnosis for Minorities & Women

At a glance

•12 million adults misdiagnosed every year in the U.S

•1 in 4 hospital patients who died or were transferred to to the ICU experienced a diagnostic error

•Nearly 18% misdiagnosed patients were harmed or died

•795, 000 patients a year die or are permanently disabled due to misdiagnosis 

Lets take a closer look at this

•Women and minorities are 20% to 30% more likely than white men to experience a misdiagnosis

•Range from 1.5% of heart attacks, 17.5% of strokes and 22.5% lung cancers

•Black women in the U.S. have the highest maternal morality rate among developed countries: 2.6x more likely to die opposed to white moms

•Black women with childbirth related heart failure are diagnosed later than white women, typically

•Minority people w/ depression are more likely than others to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia

•Minorities are less likely than whites to be diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other memory loss conditions during the early stages of the disease

Why is this?

•Minority patients less likely to be insured than white patients

•Lack access to high-quality hospitals

•Racial bias: deliberate and unintentional

•Demanding schedules which prevent doctors from spending more time w/ patients à busy and overworked

•Medical textbooks have diseases illustrated with stereotypical white men, which makes some doctors feel uncertain of treating those of color (only 4.5% of images feature patients with dark skin)

Considerations

•Anti-Bias training in health care 

•More representation in medical books and education system 

•Changing how schedules work to allow for people to be less overworked and tired 

•Creating equipment and technology that is inclusive of those with darker complexions 

This means advocacy for patients and communities. How does that look like for you?

Reflection Questions

•What does this mean for your role? What does this mean for you as an ally?

•Have you experienced medical bias, if so, what was that experience like for you? What would you change about the situation?

•If you noticed that your colleague is talking to a client while using bias, and it’s impacting the level of care the client is receiving, what would you do, if anything?

Source:

Szabo, L. (2024). Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis. KFF Health News. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medical-misdiagnosis-women-minorities-health-care-bias/