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Article
No racial disparities in surgical care quality observed after coronary artery bypass grafting in TRICARE patients
Health Affairs
  • Muhammad Ali Chaudhary, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Elzerie de Jager, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Nizar Bhulani, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Nicollette K Kwon, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Adil H Haider, Aga Khan University
  • Eric Goralnick, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Tracey Pérez Koehlmoos, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland
  • Andrew J Schoenfeld, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Publication Date
8-1-2019
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Abstract

In the US, racial disparities in outcomes following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are well documented. TRICARE insurance data represent a large population with universal insurance that allows for the robust assessment of the impact of such insurance on disparities in health care. This study examined racial differences in specific aspects of surgical care quality following CABG, using metrics endorsed by the National Quality Forum that included the prescription of beta-blockers and statins at discharge and thirty-day readmissions. There were no risk-adjusted differences in outcomes between African American and white patients insured through TRICARE. Our study provides a window into the potential impacts of universal insurance and an equal-access health care system on racial disparities in surgical care quality following CABG.

Citation Information
Muhammad Ali Chaudhary, Elzerie de Jager, Nizar Bhulani, Nicollette K Kwon, et al.. "No racial disparities in surgical care quality observed after coronary artery bypass grafting in TRICARE patients" Health Affairs Vol. 38 Iss. 8 (2019) p. 1307 - 1312
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/adil_haider/46/