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March 12, 2008Do Hospitals Provide Lower-Quality Care to Minorities Than to Whites? |
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From The Commonwealth Fund: Research has shown that minority patients tend to have primary care physicians with less clinical training, see specialists with poorer clinical outcomes, and seek care at lower-performing hospitals than do white patients. However, a new Commonwealth Fund supported study finds that when minority patients and white patients seek care at the same hospital, they receive the same standard of care. These results highlight a fundamental rule: minority patients receive the best care when they are treated in hospitals that deliver high-quality care. In terms of eliminating disparities, this may mean a greater focus on underperforming hospitals. "More attention needs to be devoted to eliminating disparities in quality across hospital rather than within hospitals," writes lead author Darrell J. Gaskin, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland in the study, entitled "Do Hospitals Provide Lower-Quality Care to Minorities than to Whites?" The researchers examined data in 13 states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania Texas, and Wisconsin) that represent more than 44 percent of the U.S. population, cover large portions of the racial and ethnic subgroups in the study (Asian, Hispanic, African American, and white), and have a sizable share of the nation's acute care general hospitals.
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