A good friend of mine recently was having some physical challenges and attributed it to a car accident. The physician diagnosed the ailment and they were having it treated at their local, regional hospital. After several months the pain and discomfort was not going away. Finally, they decided to go to a medical center in another city. There they immediately identified the problem and initiated the correct treatment. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. There is a difference in the medical care that is provided by different hospitals, as well as the difference in the care based on other factors such as race.
An article appeared May 23, 2007 in USA Today entitled, “Does Where You Live Determine If You Live?” It indicated that beginning this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to post the first broad comparison of the death rates for heart attack and heart failure on its website, www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. That site, provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, assists individuals with information on how well the hospitals in your area care for their adult patients in certain medical conditions. The article goes on to report that “What Americans don’t know can hurt them. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine reported nearly 100,000 patients a year die from medical errors. In 2003, researchers from Rand Corp. reported that only half of patients got recommended medical care.”
For African-Americans, it gets worst. Just a few days ago on our NBC affiliate, it reported the results from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans. Consider the findings from their recent study:
- Death rates following a heart attack were significantly higher in hospitals that treated a disproportionate share of African-Americans, compared to hospitals that treated whites.
- Were African-American heart attack patients admitted to the same hospitals as were white heart attack patients during the study period (1997-2001), roughly 1,000 additional African-Americans would have survived 90 days after the heart attack.
- Study conclusions support other recent findings that black patients are more likely to be seen by physicians with less clinical training than those treating whites, and treated at hospitals with higher risk-adjusted surgical death rates and lower rates of evidence-based treatments and protocols.
The study concluded the following:
- Heart attack patient death rates within 90 days of hospital treatment were significantly higher for hospitals that treated a disproportionate share of African- Americans than for hospitals that treated whites.
Also, there is a difference with your treatment at non-teaching hospitals and major teaching hospitals, and larger than differences observed between high and low volume hospitals.
In the event of an emergency or a chronic ailment, what hospital you go to does make a difference. Not all hospitals provide the same quality care. You must do the “due diligence” to search out the best hospitals in your area, and sometimes the extra time or cost in traveling to a hospital in another city (or even state) can be the difference between life and death!!
We are admonished by the proverb writer to prepare by looking at the ant, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has not commander, no overseer, or ruler, yet it stores its provision in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6 NIV).
- Compare physicians and check with others who are their patients.
- Doctors are not gods, even though they want you to think so. Always get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.
- Always have an annual physical and take the recommended tests for your age & gender.
- When needed, consider hospitals in & out of your area that specialize in your specific medical condition.
Remember, not all hospitals give the same care & services; and for blacks especially, seek the best hospital – not always the most convenient. Be blessed and I look forward to your comments and responses.