Misunderstandings about the Effects of Race and Sex on Physicians' Referrals for Cardiac Catheterization

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Abstract
In the February 25 issue of the Journal, Schulman et al. claimed that the “race and sex of a patient independently influence how physicians manage chest pain.”1 Their study received extensive coverage in the news media. It was reported in most major newspapers26 and was a feature story on ABC's Nightline, with Surgeon General David Satcher providing commentary.7 Unfortunately, in each case, the results were overstated. We explore what went wrong and suggest ways to improve the communication of data to the public. Our purpose is not to deny the occurrence of racial or sex bias, rather to emphasize . . .