Study shows nonwhite physicians attain better pain control using less analgesia

Research has shown that patients from ethnic minority groups receive less analgesic-based pain treatment in emergency departments than whites, however, a study published in The Journal of Pain reports that nonwhite physicians achieve better pain control using less analgesia.

Previous studies on emergency department pain care for minorities have not addressed the effectiveness of pain treatment in relation to patient and provider race. Researchers from University of South Alabama, Beth Israel Medical Center (NY) and Yale University hypothesized that patient and provider race and their concordance would have a significant influence on patient outcomes.

For the study 776 emergency department patients were analyzed. Eighty-five percent were treated by white clinicians. Results showed that nonwhite physicians were more likely to achieve clinically relevant reductions in pain intensity than white physicians, but ethnic concordance of physicians and patients did not predict outcomes.

The data showed that nonwhite physicians ordered analgesics at similar rates as white physicians but prescribed opioids at lower rates. However, nonwhite physicians had better success in reducing pain intensity, which the authors believe may be attributable to patient-physician interaction factors. Previous studies have reported that provider behavior variables like question asking, participatory style and overall personal warmth may contribute to successful pain treatment outcomes in the emergency department by nonwhite physicians.

Limitations of the research noted by the authors are the low number of black, Asian and Hispanic physicians studied and lack of information on other factors influencing treatment success, such as physician age, training, experience and communication skills.