The amount of information given by the doctor is influenced by the degree of patient engagement with the doctor.
When the information was initiated by the doctor, there were no differences in the amount of it. But differences in the amount of information provided by doctors, were there when prompted by the patient. Blacks were less likely than whites to raise query or concerns and also less likely to bring a friend or family member during the appointment.
When doctors and patients were of the same race, there was no difference in the doctor-provided information.
"While not directly negating the possibility that racial disparities in care are due to doctor bias or patient preferences, (these findings) suggest that disparities in medical care are related in part to the communicative dynamics of the encounter, particularly the degree to which patients are actively involved," the study authors wrote.
