Research published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality suggests current efforts to standardize demographic data collection are insufficient and could hamper population health efforts.
Researchers conducted an observational study of patients discharged from an academic hospital from 2005 to 2009 to determine whether efforts to standardize patient demographic information improved healthcare disparities.
While the overall proportion of patients with an "unknown race" decreased from 2005 to 2009, Hispanic/Latino patients were less likely to specify their race and more likely to designate themselves as "multiracial: other combination." The researchers concluded current federal race categories may be inadequate, which could lead to failures in closing gaps in healthcare disparities.
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Researchers conducted an observational study of patients discharged from an academic hospital from 2005 to 2009 to determine whether efforts to standardize patient demographic information improved healthcare disparities.
While the overall proportion of patients with an "unknown race" decreased from 2005 to 2009, Hispanic/Latino patients were less likely to specify their race and more likely to designate themselves as "multiracial: other combination." The researchers concluded current federal race categories may be inadequate, which could lead to failures in closing gaps in healthcare disparities.
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AHRQ Releases 2011 National Healthcare Quality, Disparities Report