Exclusive: Doctors use problematic race-based algorithms to guide care every day. Why are they so hard to change?

For many patients, it comes as a shock to learn that calculators used to guide their care give different answers depending on their race

Log In    Subscribe Doctors use problematic race-based algorithms to guide care every day. Why are they so hard to change? By Katie Palmer and Usha Lee McFarling Race-based algorithms are still widely used across medicine on millions of patients a year — perpetuating the fallacy that race plays an immutable, biological role in health outcomes and potentially harming people of color, doctors told STAT.   It's a part of a long, vicious cycle: Racially biased tools for things like assessing UTI risk, kidney health, and lung disease are embedded in medical practices. It's often an exasperating process to get more ethical, revamped versions used across America's disjointed health care system, making change slow to happen, if at all.   In the meantime, biased tools continue to dramatically underrepresent non-white patients in clinical data sets, and spit out more accurate predictions for Caucasian patients. READ MORE This is Part 1 of Embedded Bias, a series revealing how race-based clinical algorithms pervade medicine.   We're releasing Part 2 tomorrow. Sign up for our morning newsletter to get it delivered straight to your inbox. In case you missed it Video Why clinicians are reconsidering race-based algorithms Database Explore the clinical tools that use race to steer care investigation UnitedHealth pledged a hands-off approach after buying a Connecticut medical group. Then it upended how doctors practice Read more Don't miss out on another STAT+ Investigation again! Unlock the world of health and medicine with a brand-new subscription to STAT+ Learn more STAT, 1 Exchange Place, Boston, MA ©2024, All Rights Reserved. I no longer wish to receive STAT emails Update Newsletter Preferences • Contact Us • Advertise with Us