Unconscious biases could be affecting how doctors treat patients

Doctors describe them as ancient survival skills that once helped us decide if a person was friend or foe. But new research shows that unconscious biases may be affecting hospital patient care.

"Unconscious biases are really those snap decisions we make because we have to take mental shortcuts," said Vancouver Coastal Health researcher Dr. Andrea Townson.

"It's normal, but it's not something we know we're doing."

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Townsonleads faculty and medical residents through unconscious bias workshops thathighlightpatterns of thinking that can lead doctors to make mistaken assumptions.

"We may blame a patient for their addiction, and that means that from a health care perspective that person may be at risk of not receiving as thorough care, because we may treat them differently in a non-emergent situation, we may not trust them as much," said Townson.

To evaluate people's unconscious biases, Townson has her participants take a social cognition test.

Even Townson found that she had abiasagainst women in science, despite herself being a woman who works in science.

She says the origins ofan individual'sbiases may stem from societal or cultural stereotypes.

Solutions to overcoming unconscious bias in a clinical setting may include: establishing common ground with a patient, or reflecting on one'sbiases before interacting with a patient are ways to address the issue, saidTownson.

"I can ask questions about your pain or your symptoms, but it's learning to ask those unscripted questions to get that personal connection," she said.

Herteamwillcontinueto offer the workshops to residents and physicians, and shehopesto perform a research studyin the future to measure the workshop's impact on patient care.

With files from The Early Edition