Negative Descriptors of Patients With Sickle Cell Disease in the Electronic Health Record

Is there an association between intersecting stigmatizing factors (ie, Black race, pain presentation, and opioid treatment) among patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and negative descriptors in the electronic health record?In this cross-sectional study of 18 326 patients, there were higher odds of a negative descriptor in notes about patients with SCD compared with Black patients without SCD (aOR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.62-3.73) and patients with chronic pain without SCD (aOR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.18-3.27), but they had similar odds of negative descriptors as patients with opioid use disorder without SCD.These findings suggest that bias toward patients with SCD may be associated more with opioid use than race or chronic pain.

Corresponding Author: Austin Wesevich, MD, MPH, MS, University of Chicago, 5841 S Maryland Ave, MC 2115, Chicago, IL 60637 (austin.wesevich@uchicagomedicine.org).

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