Concentration and Quality of Hospitals That Care for Elderly Black Patients

Abstract

Racial differences in the use of health care services, quality of health care, and outcomes have been widely documented¹ and persist^2,3 despite years of attention given to this topic. However, the reasons behind these gaps are less well understood. These disparities may be caused by differences in the health care settings where white and black patients receive treatment. Bach et al⁴ recently found that 80% of all outpatient primary care visits by black patients were accounted for by just 22% of physicians. Moreover, the primary care physicians who provided care during the bulk of visits by black patients were less likely to be board certified and were more likely to report difficulties in providing high-quality care to their patients.