A recent study published in JAMA Network Open reveals disparities in how doctors respond to patient portal messages based on the race and ethnicity of the patients. The study suggests that Black patients may be at a disadvantage when seeking medical advice through online platforms compared to their white counterparts.

The study, at Boston Medical Center, a large safety-net provider, analyzed responses to patient portal messages sent in 2021 from over 39,000 primary care patients. Researchers focused on medical advice request messages, which are crucial for patient-care team communication, Axios reported.

Among the key findings were that while response rates were similar across all provider types involved in patient care, including registered nurses and physicians in training, there were significant differences in response rates from attending physicians. Black patients were found to be 3.95 percentage points less likely than white patients to receive a response from an attending physician. Black patients were about 3 percentage points more likely to receive a response from a registered nurse compared to white patients.

“The findings of this study suggest potential disparities in how health care team resources are allocated across portal messages by patient race and ethnicity; understanding and addressing these disparities will be necessary for improving care equity,” read the study.

Just 21.1 percent of patients in the study sample were white, but they received 46.3 percent of responses from attending physicians. A total of 39 043 patients were included in the sample: 2006 were Asian, 21 600 were Black, 7185 were Hispanic, and 8252 were white.

“The findings of this study suggest lower prioritization of patients who belong to minoritized racial and ethnic groups during triaging,” the study stated. “Understanding and addressing these disparities will be important for improving care equity and informing health care delivery support algorithms.”

Photo by Klaus Nielsen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bald-black-woman-in-patient-robe-looking-in-window-6303793/