Adverse Characterizations of Sickle Cell Disease Patients in Electronic Health Records

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Clinician biases based on race, chronic disease, and opioid use negatively impact care for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).
2

Patients with SCD, predominantly Black, face compounded biases that affect pain management and treatment decisions in healthcare settings.
3

Negative language in electronic health records (EHR) can lead to less aggressive pain management for patients with SCD compared to those described neutrally.
4

A study found that patients with SCD reported higher discrimination rates attributed to their disease than to their race, highlighting unique biases.
5

The study utilized natural language processing to analyze clinician notes, revealing the presence of negative descriptors for patients with SCD.

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