Doctors Respond Less to Black Patients’ Emails

A new study published in JAMA Network Open reveals a concerning disparity in how physicians respond to patient messages through online portals, potentially exacerbating existing racial inequalities in healthcare access. The research, conducted at Boston Medical Center, examined responses to patient portal messages sent by 39,000 primary care patients in 2021.

 

While overall response rates from all provider types were similar across racial groups, the study uncovered a significant difference in responses from attending physicians. Black patients were 3.95 percentage points less likely than white patients to receive a response from an attending physician. Hispanic and Asian patients also experienced lower response rates from attending physicians compared to white patients.

 

The disparity is particularly striking given that white patients comprised only 21.1% of the study sample but received 46.3% of responses from attending physicians. In contrast, Black patients were slightly more likely to receive responses from registered nurses.

 

Researchers suggest that these differences may stem from triage nurses forwarding fewer messages from minority patients to doctors, possibly due to implicit bias or variations in message content. The study’s authors noted that this could indicate healthcare providers view messages from Black patients as lower priority when managing patient inquiries.

 

This finding raises concerns about the potential for online patient portals, which gained popularity during the pandemic, to perpetuate healthcare disparities. As these digital tools become increasingly important for patient-provider communication, addressing such racial discrepancies in responsiveness becomes crucial for ensuring equitable healthcare access and outcomes.

 

The researchers emphasize the need for further investigation into the broader implications of these findings and the potential differences in the value of responses from attending physicians versus nurses.