Significant differences were discovered in the terminology used by medical staff to document patient encounters, according to a groundbreaking study. These findings may affect the standard of treatment that underrepresented populations receive.
Under the heading “Examining Linguistic Differences in Electronic Health Records for Diverse Patients with Diabetes: Natural Language Processing Analysis,” 281 physicians in a large metropolitan area treated Black, White, and Hispanic or Latino patients, whose electronic health records (EHRs) were examined. The results demonstrate how racial and ethnic prejudices can creep into even the most private and mundane areas of medical care.
The goal of the study, directed by Rice University’s Eden King, the Lynette S. Autrey professor of psychological sciences, was to find out if physicians describe their patients in post-visit reports in a way that is prejudiced.
According to King, language and communication are essential to social relationships in all contexts, including the crucial conversations that take place between patients and therapists. The results of our study, which aimed to determine if language doctors use in medical records indicate biases, are alarming.
Sentiment Analysis and Social Cognition Engine (SEANCE), an advanced natural language processing tool, was utilized in the study to analyze several linguistic markers in the EHR text. The data showed that terms linked with fear and disgust, such “intimidate,” “attack,” and “cringe,” as well as much more negative adjectives, like “unkind,” “negative,” and “stupid,” were found in the medical notes of Black and Hispanic or Latino patients. Notes for white, non-Hispanic patients, on the other hand, used more positive wording, with verbs denoting trust (such “affirm” and “advise”) and adjectives like “kind” and “supportive.”
According to a news release from King, “These results are consistent with an increasing corpus of research showing that racial and ethnic minorities frequently receive inferior care, characterized by less empathy, reduced rapport, and diminished patient trust.”
