Racial and ethnic discrimination in health care settings contributes to poorer health outcomes in the United States and all over the world. In 2022, the Commonwealth Fund conducted two surveys, including qualitative components, to understand how U.S. health care workers view patient discrimination and explore potential solutions.

In the Commonwealth Fund’s international survey of primary care physicians, up to 40 percent of physicians in the U.S. reported that the health system treats people differently based on their racial or ethnic background, compared to 26 percent and 25 percent in Canada and the United Kingdom, respectively. In the second survey, a collaboration with the African American Research Collaborative, health workers said racism against patients is a major problem or crisis.