Addressing Assumptions: Language, Literacy, and Socioeconomic Status explores the evidence demonstrating the adverse effect of clinicians’ implicit biases on a patient’s perception of the encounter, quality of care, and clinical outcome. When clinicians’ actions or words are influenced by assumptions about stigmatized conditions or circumstances (eg, behavioral health disorders, literacy barriers, socioeconomic status), patients may feel blamed for the challenges they face and avoid seeking healthcare in the future.
