Of course, this is not the first study to discover racial bias when it comes to prescribing pain treatments. According to a 2000 study conducted by Emory University, a hospital emergency department in Atlanta prescribed pain killer to 74 percent of White patients with bone fractures, while only 50 percent of African American patients received the same treatment. Another paper last year found that Black children with appendicitis were less likely to receive pain medication for the illness.
To determine the accuracy of the UVA research, 10 experienced physicians were asked to do the same experiment as the medical school students and residents with the same medical cases and patients. Most of the physicians prescribed a narcotic for both patients.