Patient preferences: do they contribute to healthcare disparities?

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of race on whether or not a patient would accept an invasive cardiac procedure when referred by a physician.

Methods: A retrospective longitudinal review of medical records at a public health hospital in southeastern Louisiana was conducted to determine cardiovascular patient acceptance/ rejection differences. Patient charts were examined using specific indicators (type of pain, laboratory values, blood pressure, and radiographic tests) to determine which patients were eligible to be referred.

Physician bias: does it occur at teaching hospitals that serve a majority of African American patients?

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine physician bias when patients present with cardiovascular disease in a teaching hospital that treats a majority of African American patients. Physician bias was deemed to occur when cardiovascular disease patients did not receive an invasive procedure when needed.

Methods: The hospital in the study was a teaching facility in southeastern Louisiana.

Race, gender, and cardiovascular disease: do disparities exist at hospitals that serve majority black populations when patients present with ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction?

A retrospective review of data was conducted to determine whether disparities in cardiovascular disease treatment occurred in three public teaching hospitals in Louisiana when patients presented for care with ischemic heart disease (IHD) or acute myocardial infarction (MI). Multinomial logit models were used to estimate the adjusted odds in the utilization of invasive procedures, while controlling for confounders (i.e.