Rich, Poor, Black, White Get Same Grade Health Care — ‘Equal- Opportunity Defects’ Seen in Study

By Jeff Donn Associated Press / Mark Watson contributed

BOSTON – Startling research from the biggest study ever of U.S. health care quality suggests that Americans – rich, poor, black, white – get roughly equal treatment, but it’s woefully mediocre for all.

“This study shows that health care has equal-opportunity defects,” said Dr. Donald Berwick, who runs the nonprofit Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass.

The survey of nearly 7,000 patients, reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine, considered only urban-area dwellers who sought treatment . The researchers acknowledged separate evidence that minorities fare worse in some areas of expensive care and suffer more from some conditions than whites, but the numbers are similar overall.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rich or poor, white or black, insured or uninsured,” said chief author Dr. Steven Asch, at the Rand Health research institute, in Santa Monica, Calif. “We all get equally mediocre care.”

The researchers first published their findings in June 2003. They reported the breakdown by racial, income, and other social groups on Thursday.

They studied medical records and phone interviews of 6,712 randomly picked patients who visited a medical office in a two-year period in 12 metro areas.

The survey studied whether folks got the highest standard of treatment for 439 measures for common chronic and acute conditions and disease prevention. It asked if they got the right tests, drugs and treatments.

Overall, patients got just 55 percent of recommended steps for top-quality care – and no group did much different.

Blacks and Hispanics each got 58 percent of the best care; whites got 54 percent. Those with annual household income over $50,000 got 57 percent; households with less than $15,000 got 53 percent. Patients without insurance got 54 percent ; managed care patients got 55 percent. Women got 57 percent; men got 52 percent.

——————–

Greater Memphis Reacts

Church Health Center of Memphis executive director Dr. G. Scott Morris :

” We’re not going to have high quality … unless we pay attention to the small stuff and … see patients as whole persons, which includes the spiritual component.”

Methodist Healthcare’s Dr. Steve Miller , vice president for medical education:

“We should view this as an opportunity to learn how to improve things and to inform all the population about how to be healthy.”

– Mark Watson

——————–