What did fmr. US surgeon general and WISH med. expert say about study on treatment of Black patients

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A new study suggests racial bias in testing to fewer Black patients getting care for breathing problems.

News 8 asked WISH-TV medical expert and former U.S. surgeon general Dr. Jermone Adams to explain how racial bias in testing can happen.

“Historically, many scientists and doctors believed that there were genetically occurring racial differences in health, including the belief that Black people’s lungs and also their kidneys were innately worse than that of white people,” Adams said.

Adams went on to explain that those assumptions were made into modern guidelines for assessing risks and deciding on further care.

“Test results were adjusted to account for a patient’s race or ethnicity. And this raised the threshold for diagnosing problems in Black patients, making them less likely to get started on certain medications or to be referred for medical procedures,” he said.

To learn more, watch the full interview above.

Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.