Today in the United States of America, the race and culture in which a person is raised determines the quality of health care he or she will receive throughout his or her life. Minority patients tend to receive lower quality health care than patients of the same race as their doctor. Minorities reported being less satisfied with visits to the doctor (Schnittker and Liang 811). This action puts the health of minority patients at risk and can cause them numerous long-term consequences. Doctors should work to improve their relationship with minority patients by learning to communicate verbally and nonverbally with them, educating themselves about how different cultures display disease symptoms, and entitling minorities to health insurance. The US population should be aware of how important it is for doctors to maintain a strong relationship with minority patients. “One in three U.S. residents identify as African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, or multiracial. By 2050, the number of minorities is expected to be one in two” (Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options?” 2008). The rate of minorities is increasing rapidly across America; therefore, white physicians are exposed to more minorities than in the past. As minorities will make up the majority of the United States in the coming decades, doctors must learn to provide these groups with the best health care possible. Most doctors are familiar with treating patients of their own race, so doctors must learn how to treat patients different from them as the rate of these groups is increasing. Since so many minority patients are dissatisfied…middle of paper…deal with different cultures and give minorities the right to health insurance. While doctors may not see any problems in their poor relationships with minority patients since they are a minority in the entire population, doctors must be prepared when minorities take over the majority of the United States. If minorities continue to receive the same quality of health care they receive today, the United States will be full of unhealthy people who do not trust their doctors. The United States has many other issues to focus on, and healthcare is one that can be addressed if doctors and the healthcare industry would take the time to work on their relationships with minority patients. It's time for doctors to stand up and change their relationship with minority patients so that America's health can be saved and it can become a healthy environment for all.