Racial Bias in Medical Diagnoses

Disparities in health outcomes based on race are often ingrained in diagnostic tools, affecting patient care regardless of healthcare providers' beliefs. For example, algorithms that incorporate race into the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs) can lead to misdiagnoses among Black children. The use of race-based calculators can result in under-treatment for this demographic, as their lower reported rates of UTIs contribute to a false sense of security. Ultimately, even well-intentioned algorithms can perpetuate health disparities due to the absence of biological reasoning behind these race-based decisions.