A Health Podyssey

Listen to Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interview Michael Sun, a medical student from the University of Chicago, on his research from the Racism and Health theme issue which examined racial bias in EHRs and found that Black patients had over 2.5 times the odds of having negative descriptors in their medical records when compared to white patients.

Show Notes

The February 2022 issue of Health Affairs focuses entirely on racism and health. 

It includes papers that trace the long history of racism to present day policies and practices that are the reasons for large and sustained health disparities.

Racism and bias come in many forms and given the social stigma associated with them, they can be difficult to study. When a study comes along that provides new empirical data on bias, it makes a major contribution to our understanding of this important topic.

One such study in the February issue from Michael Sun, a medical student from the University of Chicago, and colleagues is the focus of today's A Health Podyssey.

Sun and coauthors studied bias in how patients are characterized by clinicians through the history and physical notes entered into a patient's electronic health record, or EHR. When a patient is admitted as an inpatient or an outpatient, the notes document the patient's reason for seeking medical care and summarize the patient's medical, family, and social history. 

The notes can also describe the plan to address the patient's medical problems. But what if the way the patient is characterized in these notes is distorted by clinician bias? 

Sun and colleagues examined racial bias in EHRs and found that Black patients had over 2.5 times the odds of having negative descriptors in their medical records when compared to white patients.

If you enjoy this interview, order the February 2022 Health Affairs Racism and Health theme issue.

Listen to Health Affairs Pathways.

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What is A Health Podyssey?

Each week, Health Affairs' Rob Lott brings you in-depth conversations with leading researchers and influencers shaping the big ideas in health policy and the health care industry.

A Health Podyssey goes beyond the pages of the health policy journal Health Affairs to tell stories behind the research and share policy implications. Learn how academics and economists frame their research questions and journey to the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Health policy nerds rejoice! This podcast is for you.