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February 29th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) — Poor people are less likely
to sue their doctor than patients with more money are, a new study
shows.
This finding may come as a surprise to many physicians who think
otherwise due to an “unconscious bias” they have against low-income
patients, according to study author Dr. Ramon Jimenez, of the Monterey
Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Institute in California, and colleagues.
The researchers added that this kind of stereotype could make some doctors
less willing to treat poor patients or lead them to care for their
low-income patients differently.
For the study, the investigators reviewed previous research to analyze
litigation rates and medical malpractice claims among low-income patients,
and compared them with other groups of patients.
The research team found that poor people are less likely to sue because
they do not have access to legal resources and they may not have enough
money to initiate a medical malpractice claim, according to the report
published in the Feb. 25 online edition of Clinical Orthopaedics and
Related Research.
The study authors pointed out that some doctors may not treat
low-income patients because they are concerned about getting paid for
their services. These doctors — either consciously or unconsciously —
might justify their decision to avoid seeing patients who are potentially
hard to collect payment from by accepting the assumption that poor
patients are more likely to sue.
By making an effort to be more culturally sensitive, doctors can
overcome any bias they have, even unconscious bias, the researchers
suggested.
“Helping doctors to become more culturally competent, [that is] able to
treat or relate better to a patient from a different race, ethnicity, sex,
socio-economic status or sexual orientation, may help overcome these
misperceptions,” Jimenez explained in a journal news release.
“In addition, improving education and training for the delivery of
culturally competent care, and empowering patients to play more meaningful
roles in their health care decisions are proven strategies that can
positively impact health disparities, the quality of medical care,
physician satisfaction and the incidence of medical malpractice
litigation,” he added.
More information
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has more about the link between income and health care.
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