Abstract
Background: Implicit biases involve subconscious associations that lead
to a negative evaluation of a person based on irrelevant characteristics
such as race or gender. This audit of management of patients who missed
appointments investigates the presence of implicit bias in our unit.
Methods: We retrospectively analysed discharge rates in 285 patients who
missed an outpatient appointment between from 1/4/2020 at Guy’s and St
Thomas’ Hospital. 285 patients were categorised into predefined ethnic
categories: White British (WB) vs Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic
(BAME) vs Other White (OW) after reading the patient’s names. In the
same fashion, we also assigned gender. Results: We did not find
differences in discharge rates among self-reported ethnic and gender
groups. Patients with WB sounding names were more likely to be
discharged when compared to patients with BAME sounding names (35% vs
58%). Discharge rates between males and females did not differ.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that implicit bias may play a role in
decision-making whether to rebook a patient after missing an
appointment.