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Race
disparity between docs and patients tough on underserved
LOS ANGELES,
April 2 (AP): Latinos make up a third of
California’s
population, though only 5 percent of the state's doctors are from
a Spanish-speaking country, according to a recent study.
Of the
state's 61,861 physicians, 3,282 are Latino. About 18 percent of
the state's doctors report speaking fluent Spanish.
The
University of California, San Francisco study published last month
analyzes data gathered by the California Medical Board on
physician work hours, specialties, ethnicity, languages spoken and
practice location.
The data
was gathered through a one-page questionnaire attached to the
state's license renewal form. Doctors were asked to select from 28
ethnicities and 34 possible languages.
The
disparity is acute in areas of Southern California, such as
Orange
County,
Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, where the population is more
than 30 percent Latino, and 5 to 8 percent of doctors are Latino.
The study's
author, Dr. Kevin Grumbach, said looking at the racial breakdown
is crucial because it relates directly to health care in
underserved communities.
``We know
from prior research that if you don't have insurance, minority
physicians are more likely to take on uninsured patients,''
Grumbach said.
``Latino
physicians in particular are more willing to take care of
uninsured patients who come to them, and black physicians are more
likely to take on Medicaid patients, in comparison to white
physicians.''
Grumbach
added that the ability of minority physicians to communicate in
the native languages of their patients can result in fewer
medication mistakes.
Blacks make
up 7 percent of the adult population, but only 3 percent of
California's physicians are black. About 2,034 black physicians
treat patients in California, which has a population of more than
35 million.
There are a
total 38,859 white physicians statewide, a grouping that includes
doctors of Middle Eastern descent.
The study
highlights notable disparities within the ethnic groupings,
according to Grumbach.
For
example, while more than 25 percent of the state's doctors are
categorized as Asian, the state has ``very few physicians of
Samoan, Cambodian, and Hmong/Laotian ethnicity, and these ethnic
groups should also be recognized as underrepresented in medicine
and more actively recruited into the profession.'' |
