from @fiercehealth research finds racial differences in patient portal

Does the race of the patient determine the hospital destination?

When transporting someone who is injured or critically ill, emergency medical technicians and paramedics know the faster they get to the nearest hospital, the better the patient's outcome. But a new study published Friday indicates that the race of the patient may determine the destination.

Does race/ethnicity play a role in Ed transport?

"Even when transported from the same geographic area, we found consistent differences by race/ethnicity in ED destinations," according to the study. "In the largest cities, only 36.8% of EMS transports for black (patients) and 43.4% for Hispanic enrollees were to the most common destination for white enrollees."

Are white patients being transported to the nearest ER?

After examining data from more than 864,700 Medicare enrollees from 4,175 ZIP codes, the study found that 61.3% of white patients were transported to the nearest emergency medical facility, compared with 58.8% of Hispanics and 56% of black patients. (Getty Stock Images)

What is the role of racism in healthcare?

Which patient had higher rates of adverse safety events than white patients?

How many health systems are involved in the patient safety equity initiative?

Is there racial difference in hospital?

Is a doctor biased against a race?

Do black patients have worse care?

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What is the role of racism in healthcare?

But when members of different races receive unequal treatment from the same team of doctors and nurses in the same hospital, she says, hospitals have to dig deeper into their data so they can figure out how to provide the same quality of care to everyone.

Which patient had higher rates of adverse safety events than white patients?

Within the same hospital, Black patients also had higher rates of adverse safety events than white patients did on pressure ulcers and central line infections.

How many health systems are involved in the patient safety equity initiative?

Since 2017, IHI has been conducting a patient safety equity initiative that now includes 22 health systems, she says, noting that she’s glad the Urban Institute study has cast a spotlight on these issues.

Is there racial difference in hospital?

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of several analyses that have shown there are racial differences in patient safety in hospitals. But it is the first paper to show that this finding holds true within the same hospital, according to study author Anuj Gangopadhyaya, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute.

Is a doctor biased against a race?

Some doctors may also be biased against people of a different race, whether they realize it or not, she says.

Do black patients have worse care?

White patients had worse care on two indicators. The quality of care was similar for Black and white patients on the other three measures.

Which group of people were more likely to be transported to a safety net hospital for poor or uninsured patients?

Black and Hispanic patients were more likely than whites to be transported to a safety-net hospital for poor or uninsured patients rather than the nearest emergency room.

How many patients were transported to the nearest ED?

"Even in areas with 1 or 0 EDs in a 10-mile vicinity, 72.9% of the patients were transported to the (nearest) ED, implying that more than 27% were transported to other EDs; this proportion increased by the number of EDs in the vicinity."

Why is it important to examine the ED-destination patterns of EMS-transported patients?

"Examining the ED-destination patterns of EMS-transported patients is important because, although the case for rapid transport to an appropriate ED is compelling, other factors may play a role in the ED destination choice."

Where do emergency medical services take patients?

Though national guidelines mandate emergency medical services take a patient to the nearest available hospital emergency department, or ED, where that patient ends up "may not be guided primarily by proximity, even for patients with highly acute conditions," according to the study.

Do black people go to safety net hospitals?

The study found that black and Hispanic patients in urban areas were more likely than whites to be taken to a safety-net hospital – one that's obligated to treat low-income or uninsured patients – even if they were picked up in the same ZIP code as a white patient, or if another facility that's familiar with the patient might provide better care.

Do elderly patients prefer home ED?

Poor patients who have used hospital emergency departments for primary care, "especially older adults and those with chronic conditions, may prefer to be transported to their so-called home ED or hospital," according to the study.

What is the role of racism in healthcare?

But when members of different races receive unequal treatment from the same team of doctors and nurses in the same hospital, she says, hospitals have to dig deeper into their data so they can figure out how to provide the same quality of care to everyone.

Which patient had higher rates of adverse safety events than white patients?

Within the same hospital, Black patients also had higher rates of adverse safety events than white patients did on pressure ulcers and central line infections.

How many health systems are involved in the patient safety equity initiative?

Since 2017, IHI has been conducting a patient safety equity initiative that now includes 22 health systems, she says, noting that she’s glad the Urban Institute study has cast a spotlight on these issues.

Is there racial difference in hospital?

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one of several analyses that have shown there are racial differences in patient safety in hospitals. But it is the first paper to show that this finding holds true within the same hospital, according to study author Anuj Gangopadhyaya, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute.

Is a doctor biased against a race?

Some doctors may also be biased against people of a different race, whether they realize it or not, she says.

Do black patients have worse care?

White patients had worse care on two indicators. The quality of care was similar for Black and white patients on the other three measures.