U.S. docs more likely to warn minorities about drinking

American doctors are twice as likely to warn African-American and Hispanic patients about drinking and drug use than white patients, a study by Harvard professor Kenneth Mukamal, M.D. (photo) has found.

"Yet blacks are less likely to be binge drinkers than whites," he said.

"It would be naive to disregard the possibility of racial bias or stereotype toward blacks and Hispanics in medical settings and assume that the difference in who gets counseling about alcohol use is coincidental," said one commentator.

Doctors should be asking about alcohol use, but should be asking about it across the board, Mukamal said. Details.