A physician's gender or race may not influence patient satisfaction ratings in the emergency room, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
For the study, researchers recruited a geographically diverse sample of 3,592 Americans to participate in an online ER visit simulation between March 9 and July 25, 2018. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four physicians: 823 had a black woman; 791 had a black man; 828 had a white woman; and 835 had a white man. Researchers introduced doubt about the physicians' diagnosis by presenting conflicting results from an online symptom checker.
At the end of the simulation, researchers surveyed participants about their confidence in the physician and their satisfaction with his or her diagnosis and treatment plans. They identified no significant differences in patients' evaluations of female or black physicians, suggesting that bias for white male physicians does not influence satisfaction ratings in the ER.
"This is not to say that people are bias-free, but it did not appear to enter into their ratings of care in surveys," lead author Rachel Solnick, MD, a researcher and emergency medicine physician at Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine, said in a press release.
To view the full study, click here.