Medical Teams May Be More Likely To Seek Evaluation Of A Patient’s Decision-Making Capacity If The Patient Is Black Or Hispanic Than White Or Asian, Research Suggests

Psychiatric News (8/30) reports, “Medical teams may be more likely to seek an evaluation of a patient’s decision-making capacity if the patient is Black or Hispanic than if the patient is white or Asian,” investigators concluded “based on the review of 181 decisional capacity consultations for patients hospitalized at a tertiary care medical center from 2018 to 2019.” The study “involved a retrospective chart review of patient medical records, which contained demographic information, medical and surgical notes, and consultation-liaison psychiatry notes.” The findings were published online Aug. 25 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Black and Hispanic Patients Disproportionately Referred for Decisional Capacity Consultations, Psychiatric News, August 30, 2022