Black patients with diabetes had a significantly higher risk of all-cause 30-day readmission compared to diabetics from other racial groups, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study that included 272,758 adult patients with diabetes, discharged from U.S. hospitals between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2014. They used an administrative claims dataset of commercially insured and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries across the country to identify the patients and stratify them by race/ethnicity.
They found that the rates of 30-day all-cause readmission were:
• 12.2 percent among black patients
• 10.9 percent among Hispanic patients
• 10.2 percent among white patients
• 9.9 percent among Asian patients
After adjusting for all factors, only black patients had a higher risk of readmission compared with white patients.
"These findings reinforce the importance of identifying and addressing the many reasons for persistent racial/ethnic differences in health care quality and outcomes," study authors concluded.
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