Patients are often harmed by medical negligence and errors that are the result of systemic problems in the delivery of healthcare. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the treatment of minorities and the poor. Government studies have consistently shown that access to medical care, and the quality of medical care, differs greatly depending on the color, ethnicity and financial abilities of the patient.
These disparities in the delivery of healthcare cause death and disability to those who are denied access to good medical care, and they are also very costly to society. Patients who are not promptly and properly treated often become sicker and require more extensive and expensive treatment, and this breakdown in the system directly increases the risk of medical malpractice for minority groups. It is in everyone’s best interest to see that these problems are addressed so that all patients can and do have access to quality medical care.