Access to medical professionals is a tremendous problem, which has been exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic. This shortage is especially noticeable when examining racial and ethnic minority physicians, who already make a small percentage of the total physician population. According to recent data available from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2019, 56% of physicians are White, followed by 17% who are Asian, 14% are unknown, 6% Hispanic/Latino, 5% are Black, 1% is multiple races, and 1% are other¹ . The data highlight racial and ethnic disparities that exist within the medical community and show that White physicians dominate the medical field. Blacks and Latinos are largely underrepresented in the medical profession. The low percentages of these two groups in the medical field create many problems for patients seeking care, but this is particularly alarming for the Latino population.

Historically researchers state, the medical profession has not been welcoming to racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Obstacles have been placed to prevent the admittance and matriculation of Blacks and Latinos in the medical profession. Historical accounts find that for Blacks in America it was difficult to break into the medical profession due to slavery and eugenics, which views Blacks intellectually inferior to Whites. Even with these institutional and structural barriers Blacks came together as a community to provide healthcare access to other Blacks. Latinos have faced similar experiences of exclusion because of racial classifications in America. Several Latinos and Latinas were not admitted to medical schools, similarly to Blacks, and were barred from practicing medicine. Latinos also worked tremendously, similarly to Blacks, as a community to provide care for underserved Latinos. But the greatest barrier was the existing and dominant racial hierarchy, which places structural and institutional barriers on groups, such as Blacks and Latinos from entering the medical field. These barriers unfortunately are still present in modern day America.

As of 2022, Latinos are the largest underrepresented minority group in the United States and still face several obstacles to medical care. Some obstacles are the lack of Latino physicians that can cater to the Spanish language needs of this population. Studies in the medical field suggest that having doctors who come from the same background is beneficial for patients. Having access to Latino doctors can provide adequate care for Latinos through cultural awareness and language proficiency. Latino doctors that speak Spanish benefit Latino patients because they can establish trust with their patients, can explain medical results or procedures in the patients preferred/dominant language to better communicate steps to treat a disease or to maintain existing good health, explain medical issues, etc. When Latino patients are faced with doctors who do not speak Spanish, they are less likely to trust their medical care because they do not know if the translations given by medical staff are accurate or they are not sure the medical staff is relaying all their concerns to the doctor. Having a Spanish speaking doctor promotes trust can push Latinos to seek medical care.

Latino doctors bring with them cultural knowledge of the Latino community. This is especially useful because they can best treat their patients based on their cultural needs. One example is obesity. Many diets to help treat obesity in the United States are based on an American diet and do not cater to other cultural groups. This makes it more difficult when treating obesity among the Latino community. With a Latino doctor, patients can have better access to tailored care with diets, such as telling patients to swap flour tortillas for corn or whole grain or the types of rice that are eaten, etc. Latino doctors can discuss with their patients how to cook their cultural foods to make them more nutritiously dense. An understanding of cultural mores and stressors can also minimize the misdiagnosis of mental health issues that may be related to cultural experiences or stressors of adapting to a society where Latino culture is undervalued and misunderstood. These are just some examples of how culture matters when treating Latino patients.

Other dimensions of health surrounding the importance of Latino doctors is biases in care. Studies suggest that Latinos received less preferential treatment from White doctors due primarily from a lack of understanding of Latino patients’ culture, language, among other things. This poor treatment is not only faced by Latinos, but by other non-Whites, which increases health disparities among non-White patients. Some examples include the lack of pain management among Latino patients. Latinos often received lower doses or do not receive any doses of pain medication because their pain is not taken seriously by White doctors. Additionally, Latino patients in prior studies also face misdiagnosis in the mental health sphere. One study comparing the mental health diagnosis of Latinos when compared to nonLatinos found that Latinos were less likely to receive an adequate mental diagnosis, which led to inadequate treatment. These issues with negative quality of care persist even when accounting for socioeconomic status and health insurance status. This demonstrates how important having Latino doctors is for the Latino community and for improving their health outcomes.

These shortages of Latino doctors are faced across the country, but especially in states with large Latino populations. One study found that in California, Latino physicians have a caseload of 55 percent Latino patients when compared to 22 percent of non-Latino patients. This shows that Latino doctors are in demand and needed for patient health.

Current health policies have increased the attention and need for Latino doctors. For instance, the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 (ACA) allowed for an increased funding for qualified health centers and providers, created health insurance exchanges, Accountable Care Organizations, and reductions in hospital readmissions. By increasing funding for health centers and providers the ACA has expanded healthcare access to vulnerable populations, which greatly impacts Latinos who are vulnerable because of lower SES status, but also due to lack of citizenship status. These community health centers have had to adapt by providing care for undocumented Latinos, non-English speaking Latinos, and created care surrounding the Latino cultural experience. Additionally, the ACA is aimed at preventative care, which reduces health care costs, with an increase of Latino Spanish speaking doctors there can be an increase of Latino patients that seek medical care because there is an increase in trust and comfort that someone who speaks their language and understand their needs is treating them. This is why Latino doctors are imperative for creating a healthy Latino community.

Lastly, the UCLA Latino Public Policy Institute (LPPI), as well as a scholarly study by Daar et al. (2018), identify several steps that can be taken to increase the number of Latino doctors. Identified areas of focus include: 1) increasing the number of Latino students admitted to medical school, 2) retaining Latino medical graduates who attend medical schools out-of-state, 3) developing k-12 pipeline programs, 4) expanding the number of international medical graduates in CA, 5) expanding (California) medical programs, and 6) increasing the number of CA residency slots. Other steps not included in the UCLA study are allowing DACA recipients the opportunity to practice medicine because the members of these communities are more likely to go back to their communities to practice medicine, increasing the number of Latinos in academic medicine, and improve medical school curriculum to include programs aimed training physicians to work in underserved communities. While some of these recommendations are tailored to CA with the exception to the second study, these steps can still be applied to other states to increase and retain Latino doctors. Thus, this can be the beginning of a healthier future for Latinos in the United States.

1. Percentages are rounded up.