Doctors can have the same prejudices that other human beings have. What they can’t do – at least without potential consequences – is let those prejudices interfere with the care they provide to their patients.
Unfortunately, that’s too often the case – even if the doctor and sometimes even the patient don’t realize what’s happening. These prejudices (or at least preconceived notions) can lead to failure to diagnose, incorrect diagnoses and even failure to treat a patient.
One of the most common prejudices doctors admit to involves “higher-weight” patients. Some 40% of doctors have admitted to having negative opinions about heavier patients – particularly female ones. Some patients refer to it as “fatphobia.”
Lack of access to failure to diagnose
These can be obvious from the time a patient tries to see a doctor. Very heavy patients may find that some doctors’ offices and other medical facilities don’t have equipment to accommodate their size. That includes everything from blood pressure cuffs to scanning machines.
Patients who are considered obese by medical standards say that whenever they describe a symptom to a doctor, they tell them it’s due to their weight without any diagnostic testing. Certainly, carrying too much weight can create other medical issues, that doesn’t mean that these patients can’t be suffering from conditions unrelated to their weight.
Fatalities from some types of cancer are more common in heavier women
It’s been found that higher-weight women have a higher fatality rate from cervical and breast cancer than other women. That has been attributed, at least in part, to failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, reluctance to see a doctor because of negative experiences and other factors related to prejudices around weight.
Proving that a doctor’s negligence, whether caused by prejudice or not, caused a bad outcome can be challenging. Patients need to do their part and get regular check-ups and screenings. They also need to advocate for themselves when they’re having concerning symptoms.
They may have liability, however, if they don’t use the same basic diagnostic process they’d use for any other patient or if they failed in their duty of care in some other way. If you believe you’ve been the victim of medical negligence or error, the best first step is to get experienced legal guidance.
