Black adult patients were less likely to be admitted to hospitals considered "high-quality" for several patient safety indicators compared to white patients, according to an Urban Institute analysis published March 29.
The research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, used 11 patient safety quality indicators to assess the state of racial disparities in the quality of inpatient care. In addition to the quality indicators, researchers used hospital discharge records from 2,347 hospitals across 26 states. Of the 11 patient safety quality indicators evaluated, four were related to general patient safety and seven were related to surgical procedures.
Three findings:
1. In six of the 11 patient safety indicators, five of which were surgery-related, Black patients experienced worse quality of care compared to their white counterparts.
2. Black patients were less likely to be admitted to "high-quality" hospitals, or those best at minimizing patient safety risks, compared to white patients. Across the seven surgery-related safety indicators, Black patients were 7.9 percentage points more likely to be admitted into "low-quality" hospitals, and 4.9 percentage points less likely to be admitted to hospitals with high patient safety measures.
3. When analyses were limited to patients with Medicare coverage, there were no significant differences in patient safety measures between Black and white patients.
"Lack of access to high-quality care due to systemic racial inequity drives worse health outcomes for Black individuals in the United States," Mona Shah, PhD, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a news release shared with Becker's. "There needs to be a greater focus on supporting policies that help address racial inequities."
To view the full analysis, click here.
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