• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Health

UCLA Health
  • About Us
    • What is UCLA Health?
    • Contact Us
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards & Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Industry Relations
    • In the Community
    • Innovation & Technology
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Social Media
    Vital SignsLinked Graphic: Subscribe to Health Newsletters
    • Contact
    • Your Feedback
    • Accountable Care Organization
    • Awards and Achievements
    • Careers
    • Careers for Physicians
    • Departments - Administrative
    • Departments - Clinical
    • Industry Relations
    • In the Community
    • Innovation & Technology
    • Leadership
    • News Releases
    • Social Media
  • Conditions & Treatment
    • Health Library
    • Tests & Procedures
    • Drug Interaction Checker
    • Brain & Nervous System
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health
    • Heart Disease
    • Nutrition & Wellness
    • Pregnancy & Newborns
    • Orthopedics
    • Women's Health
    • Video Library
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Chiropractic
    • Cosmetic Surgery
    • Ear, Nose and Throat
    • Gastrointestinal
    • General Healthcare
    • Neurological
    • Obstetrics/Gynecology
    • See all videos...
    Symptom Checker
    • Video Library
  • Locations

    Hospitals

    • Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
    • UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica
    • UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
    • Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital
    • Institutes and Centers
    • Take a Virtual Tour

    Medical Offices/Clinics

    • Primary Care
    • Specialty Care
    • Urgent Care Centers
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Imaging/Radiology Locations
    • Clinical Labs
    • Pharmacies
    • Coming Soon

    Interactive Map

    interactive map

    • UCLA Hospitals
    • Take a Virtual Tour
    • Primary Care Practices
    • Specialty Care Practices
    • Urgent Care Centers
    • Outpatient Surgery Centers
    • Other Locations
    • Interactive Map
    • Coming Soon!
  • Medical Services
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Directions & Parking
    • Appointments: Call, Click, Come In
    • Admissions Information
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient Services
    • Security & Parking Services
    • Office of the Patient Experience
    • For International Patients
    • Lodging & Nearby Services
    • Around Westwood
    • Gift Shops & Flowers
    • Health Resources
    • Log in to myUCLAhealth
    • About myUCLAhealth
    • Billing Information
    • Medical Records
    • Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
    • Covered California
    • Health Plans
    • Interactive Patient Education Videos (Emmi)
    • FAQs
    • Calendar of Events
    • Secure Email Messages
    • Share your story. Connect. Share. Improve. UCLA Health
    • Share Your Story
    • Health Publications
    • Vital Signs Newsletters
    • Health Tips for Parents
    • Contact Us
    • Appointments: Call, Click, Come in
    • Admissions Information
    • Advance Directive
    • Covered California
    • Health Plans
    • Directions & Parking
    • Patient Services
    • Medical Records
    • myUCLAhealth
    • Smoke-Free
    • Publications
    • Health Resources
    • Around Westwood
    • Lodging
    • Preparing For Surgery
    • Patient-focused Technology Council
    • Health Forms
    • End of Life Option Act: Resources & Materials
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Secure Email Messages
    • Gift Shops
  • For Healthcare Professionals
    • Referring a Patient
    • E-Referral
    • Continuing Medical Education
    • Ethics Center
    • UCLA HealthLink
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Academic Positions
    • Physician Careers
    • UCLA School of Nursing
    • Department of Nursing

    Physician Publications

    • Physicians Update
    • Clinical Updates
    • U Magazine
    • E-Referral
    • Physician to Physician Access Line (P2P)
    • Physician Careers
    • Clinical Informatics Fellowship
    • Flu Resources for Healthcare Professionals
    • Publications
  • Multimedia
    • UCLAMDCHAT Webinars
    • Community Health Program Videos
    • UCLAORLive Surgery
    • iTunes
    • Download Our Apps
    • Mini Med School
    • Demystifying Cancer Forum
    • TEDx UCLA Videos
    • Tips from our Physical Therapists
    • Patient Stories
    • Real Questions
    • Webinars on Demand
    • Pediatric Grand Rounds
    • Tune in to watch our health webinars
    • Community Health Program Videos
    • UCLAORLive Surgery
    • UCLAMDChat Webinars
    • iTunes
    • Download Our Apps
    • Mini Med School
    • Demystifying Cancer Forum
    • TEDx UCLA Videos
    • Tips From Our Physical Therapists
    • Patient Stories
    • Real Questions
    • Back Pain Management
  • Find a Provider
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

About Us

About Us

About Us

  • Contact
  • Your Feedback
  • Accountable Care Organization
    • CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program
    • UCLA MSSP ACO
    • ACO - Anthem Blue Cross PPO
      • Anthem Blue Cross PPO ACO FAQ
  • Awards and Achievements
    • UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation’s best in U.S. News survey
    • UCLA Designated a National Magnet Hospital
  • Careers
  • Careers for Physicians
  • Departments - Administrative
  • Departments - Clinical
  • Industry Relations
  • In the Community
    • Community Health
  • Innovation & Technology
    • Contact
  • Leadership
    • Dr. John Mazziotta
    • Johnese Spisso
    • Dr. Kelsey Martin
  • News Releases
  • Social Media
  • Contact
  • Your Feedback
  • Accountable Care Organization
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Careers
  • Careers for Physicians
  • Departments - Administrative
  • Departments - Clinical
  • Industry Relations
  • In the Community
  • Innovation & Technology
  • Leadership
  • News Releases
  • Social Media
  1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. News Releases

News Releases

Share this

Health and Behavior

Physicians treating Latinos have high hurdles to jump, study shows

10/10/2011
Experts have written about health care disparities between Latinos and non-Latino whites, mostly from a policy standpoint. They've also looked at the same disparities from the perspective of the patient, in terms of access, use and the quality of health care.
 
But how do the physicians feel about the quality of care they provide? What challenges do doctors face in treating Latino patients, compared with physicians whose patients are primarily white and non-Latino?
 
Research out of UCLA and the City University of New York has found that primary care physicians who treat Latinos are less likely than physicians treating primarily white patients to believe they can provide high-quality care. Among the reasons: inadequate time with patients, patients' lack of ability to afford care, patients not adhering to recommended treatments, and difficulties in communicating.
 
The study appears in the current edition of the journal Health Affairs.
 
Researchers used data from the 2008 Community Tracking Physician Survey, a nationally representative sample of U.S. physicians that included demographic information and patient characteristics.
 
"From this survey, we analyzed physicians' self-reported ability to provide high-quality care to Latinos and compared it to that of physicians treating primarily whites," said Arturo Vargas-Bustamante, an assistant professor of health services at the UCLA School of Public Health and lead author of the study along with Jie Chen, an assistant professor at CUNY's College of Staten Island.
 
Latinos differ from other minority patients in their socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, as well as their patterns of health care access, use and spending, Vargas-Bustamante said, and these differences are likely to influence physicians' perceptions of the quality of care they deliver.
 
Latinos represent more than 15 percent of the U.S. population, he noted, and they constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the country. And the Affordable Care Act of 2010, Vargas-Bustamante said, is likely to benefit larger proportions of minority individuals, particularly Latinos, who currently experience the highest uninsurance rate across racial and ethnic groups.
 
"We wanted to understand the challenges that providers face in delivering high-quality care to underserved populations," he said. "Overcoming such challenges will be critical to ensure that the insurance expansion under the Affordable Care Act will succeed in providing better health for all."
 
What the researchers found, Vargas-Bustamante said, was disturbing. Physicians who primarily treat Latino patients don't feel they can provide high-quality care. But in addition to the problems specific to Latinos, these physicians still must contend with all the common problems of providing health care regardless of ethnicity, including insurers' rejection of claim decisions, medical errors, a relative lack of available specialists and the lack of timely transmission of reports among physicians.
 
Vargas-Bustamante noted that, when implemented, the Affordable Care Act can potentially address some of these quality challenges.
 
"An increased supply of medical personnel, for example, would allow primary care physicians to allocate more time to patients and improve follow-up," he said. "Also, more cultural competence will come from the strengthening of primary care providers, which would address problems with communicating and in improving treatment compliance."
 
The researchers received no outside funding for this study.
 
The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research; training future leaders and health professionals; translating research into policy and practice; and serving local, national and international communities.
 
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
Media Contact:
Mark Wheeler
(310) 794-2265
mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu


Media Contact
Mark Wheeler
(310) 794-2265
mwheeler@mednet.ucla.edu



Latest News

Health and Behavior
Noninvasive spinal stimulation method enables paralyzed people to regain use of hands, study finds
04/25/2018
The nonsurgical technique, developed by a UCLA-led team, allows them to turn doorknobs and open water bottles for the first time in years.

Health and Behavior
Study suggests older surgeons produce lower mortality rates in emergency procedures
04/25/2018
The research also showed that when comparing by gender and across age groups, patients of female surgeons in their 50s had the lowest mortality rate.

Health and Behavior
UCLA research may explain some causes of infertility and miscarriage
04/25/2018
The study, led by Professor Amander Clark, could lead to important advances in an area of medicine that historically has been underfunded and underappreciated.

Health and Behavior
Doctors prescribe opioids at high rates to those at increased overdose risk, but trends improving, study finds
04/23/2018
Use in combination with the anti-anxiety drug benzodiazepine may be linked to the current surge in opioid-related deaths.

Health and Behavior
Crop choices: How price supports can contribute to healthier diets
04/19/2018
Professor's model suggests well-designed subsidies can help farmers and give consumers better food choices.

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Add Us to Your Google+ Circles Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare
UCLA Health hospitals rank among nation's best in U.S. News survey
  • UCLA Health
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Publications
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Emergency
  • Smoke-Free
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-800-UCLA-MD1
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Report Broken Links
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Add Us to Your Google+ Circles Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest Follow us on Flickr Follow us on Sharecare

Sign in to myUCLAhealth