Race, Ethnicity, and Health Student’s Name: University Affiliation Chapter Thirty-Two The Effect of Patients’ Race and Socioeconomic Status on Physicians’ Perceptions of Patients Summary The patients’ socio-demographic characteristics have been found to have significant impacts on both the physicians’ behavior and on the diagnosis and treatment that the patients receive. The effect of the patients’ socio-demographic characteristics may persist when the factors like the patients’ income, insurance coverage, and the severity of the disease can be controlled. The topic of the patients’ socio-demographic characteristics can be partially mediated by the difference in the perception of the physicians and the beliefs of the patients. The perception of the physicians may vary depending on the races of the patients, the socioeconomic status of the patients or the demograp