Minorities more likely to rate health care they receive as “poor”
Minority patients are more likely then white patients to rate received health care as fair to poor. This is particularly true of Chinese-Americans, blacks born in Africa, and Vietnamese-American patients.
Researchers at Harvard University surveyed 4,334 people in 2007. Surveyors asked patients questions like how quickly they were able to schedule appointments and whether their doctor explained details in a manner that was understandable. Generally, whites rated their experiences higher than most minorities.
91 percent of whites rated the care they received as either excellent or good. Chinese-Americans rated their care at 74 percent, African-Americans born in Africa were 73 percent, and Vietnamese-Americans were 72 percent.
According the the study, 63 percent of whites were able to get doctor appointments the same day or the day after they needed care. This percentage was 42 for Cuban-Americans and 39 for African-Americans born in the Caribbean.
The consistency of the findings makes this impossible to ignore or blame on patients’ perceptions. Steps need to be taken to improve these perceptions.
