Racial and Ethnic Bias in Pulse Oximetry and Clinical Outcomes – JAMA Internal Medicine

This editorial discusses issues of racial and ethnic bias in pulse oximetry, a method widely used to assess blood oxygen saturation, citing studies showing that measurements are more inaccurate in patients with darker skin. This often leads to underdiagnosis of respiratory disease in racial and ethnic minoritized groups and thus biased healthcare for these patients. Senior author Terri Hough, M.D. is funded by the Lung Association COVID Action Initiative.