Confronting Racial Barriers in Medicine
11/20/08 Portland, OR
In response to last week’s election the author of this New York Times article asks, “in politics, the racial barriers might have fallen, but what about in health care?”
To help her explore this question the author sought the expertise of Somnath Saha, M.D., M.P.H., OHSU School of Medicine and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Saha is one of the authors of a study showing that minority and white patients report better outcomes when their doctors are of the same race or ethnicity and more recently a study that found medical students who are a part of a more ethnically and racially mixed student body feel better prepared to provide health care for diverse patient populations.
Read the New York Times article for more on the role of racial barriers in the doctor-patient relationship.
To help her explore this question the author sought the expertise of Somnath Saha, M.D., M.P.H., OHSU School of Medicine and Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Saha is one of the authors of a study showing that minority and white patients report better outcomes when their doctors are of the same race or ethnicity and more recently a study that found medical students who are a part of a more ethnically and racially mixed student body feel better prepared to provide health care for diverse patient populations.
Read the New York Times article for more on the role of racial barriers in the doctor-patient relationship.
