Anatomy of a Myth: How a Debunked Racial Concordance Study Infiltrated Every Corner of the Medical Field

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a study in August 2020 titled, “Physician–patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns” that examined the effects of racial concordance on infant mortality.

The notion that racial concordance – when patients are treated by physicians of the same race – improves health outcomes is not supported by the preponderance of existing evidence. Nevertheless, the study came to the bold conclusion that when black physicians treat black infants, the survival rate of black infants improves.

However, the study was seriously flawed.

Continue reading the full report below.