We all have some bias, and bias can be helpful and harmful. It can be helpful because it helps us function on a daily basis and helps protect us from harm. It can also be harmful, when it becomes a prejudice against someone who is different than us: the “other.”

In 1998 the implicit association test (IAT) was developed to measure unconscious bias. You can try one of the available tests for yourself here:

[Project Implicit](https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html)

Tests include those on sexuality, gender, religion, various ethnic groups, disability, and weight, to name a few. All of them (aside from those devoted to our current President) are biases that can be found in medical encounters all over the country.

Bias can and does exist in the health care, and it can unfortunately cause different patients to get different treatment. There has been one study using the IAT to determine whether doctors are implicitly biased based on race. The study looked at treatment recommendations for patients with acute coronary syndromes presenting to the emergency department.

The study found that there was implicit preference for the white patients and implicit stereotypes of the black patients as being less cooperative.

In our practice, bias shows up in many formers. Often we are called by potential clients who believe they were treated unfairly because of their race, sexual orientation, or something else. In focus groups we run, we routinely analyze potential juror attitudes towards these issues.

I can recall specifically presenting a case involving my young female client. I described the facts of what happened to her, and one focus group participant volunteered that my client was black, because of the way she was treated.

Another time I wanted input as to whether a potential client’s weight would be an issue for jurors (he weighed over 400 lbs when he presented to the emergency room). On one hand, many of the jurors thought that his weight may have been an issue in the way in which he was treated. However, they also felt like his medical problems were his fault, much more so than anything the health care provider did.

Bias exists in all facets of our society. Although we will likely never be “bias-free”, having an awareness of our biases is a good first step in hopefully working towards those biases not affecting how we treat people, particularly in the medical field.

You can read the full article here:

[How Does Bias Affect Physicians, Patients?](http://www.acepnow.com/article/bias-affect-physicians-patients/?singlepage=1)