Racial Disparities in Medical Care

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Abstract
Many studies have shown that black Americans are less likely than whites to receive a wide range of medical services, including potentially lifesaving surgical procedures.1,2 Despite these data, which span two decades, there is little evidence that racial disparities in medical care or in measures of health have substantially diminished. Black Americans have an average life expectancy that is 6 years shorter than that of white Americans, and there has been little change in this disparity during the past 30 years.3 Why has the evidence on racial disparities failed to galvanize a response within the medical community? Four factors . . .