Adverse Events: Disparities Among Hospitalized Medicare Patients

Disparities in the delivery of health care and patient outcomes are a significant U.S. public health concern, with communities of color and other disadvantaged groups experiencing poorer health outcomes compared to the U.S. population as a whole. Research on disparities in patient safety and adverse events is limited and this study intends to add to the body of information specific to health outcome disparities. We will identify the extent to which disparities in adverse event rates exist and which patient and hospital characteristics are associated with higher adverse event rates (e.g., race/ethnicity, hospital type, and geographic location). We will use data collected for an ongoing OIG study of adverse events (OEI-06-18-00400), which includes detailed information about adverse events experienced by a random sample of 770 hospitalized Medicare patients. We will analyze these adverse event data in conjunction with demographic information available in the medical record and other information contained in CMS claims data or in publicly available datasets, such as U.S. Census Bureau data. An increased understanding of disparities in patient safety will help medical providers and researchers identify and address the underlying issues that contribute to inequities in the delivery of health care.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
Removed	CMS, AHRQ, OMHA	Adverse Events: Disparities Among Hospitalized Medicare Patients	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-06-21-00040	NA