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Findings support universal health care system to stem racial disparities in outcomes following surgery
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Researchers assessing Tricare data found comparable outcomes between African American patients and White patients after surgery, suggesting a universal health care system in which patients are treated in the same manner may be beneficial.
Researchers used data from the U.S. Department of Defense health insurance (Tricare) and measured and compared outcomes between African Americans and Whites following 12 surgical procedures from different specialties. Investigators also used information from the State Inpatient database of California to compare outcomes between the groups. Variables studied included postoperative mortality, complications, failure to rescue, readmission and length of stay.
Results showed postoperative complications and mortality were not significantly different between Whites and African Americans who underwent surgery at U.S. Department of Defense hospitals. Using the database for California, investigators noted African Americans who were either uninsured or on Medicaid had significantly higher chances of morality, complications, failure to rescue and readmission compared with Whites.
“In the equal access military health care system, African Americans have outcomes similar to Whites. Disparities were evident in California, especially among those without private insurance. These facts point toward the potential benefits of a federally administered system in which all patients are treated uniformly,” the researchers wrote. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosure: The study was supported by a grant from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation of the Department of Defense.
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