Unveiling Data Variations in Tackling Health Care Disparities

TL/DR –

A recent study has revealed discrepancies in the recording of race and ethnicity among patients who visited the same Michigan hospital. Approximately 1.7% of adults and 7% of children had a different race or ethnicity marked on their patient records during different visits. The study calls for standardized practices for collecting race and ethnicity data to better address health disparities.

Health Care Inequity Documented in Racial and Ethnic Patient Data

Despite decades of effort to combat health care disparities in the US, a new study has revealed inconsistencies in the recording of patient race and ethnicity. Data on racial and ethnic backgrounds is crucial in identifying and addressing these disparities, but the study suggests this data is not always reliably recorded.

The study revealed that 1.7% of adults and 7% of children who visited the same Michigan hospital or health system at least twice had different racial or ethnic information recorded across visits. The inconsistency rate was even higher among adult patients registered as Black and of non-Hispanic origin at their first visit, and those categorized under the broad ‘Other’ race and ethnicity category.

Results suggest the need for hospitals and health systems to adopt standardized practices for collecting patient race and ethnicity data in their emergency departments. Current electronic health record systems’ race and ethnicity data have important limitations, which could impact administrative decisions, clinical processes, research, and other areas.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from over half a million individuals who visited 42 hospitals from late 2018 to late 2021. Keith Kocher, M.D., M.P.H., senior author, stated that the findings highlight the need for improvements in how race and ethnicity data is handled in health records.

In an editorial accompanying the study, experts emphasized that “high-quality data are needed to appropriately measure and address pervasive racial and ethnic health disparities.”

Further Reading:

More information:
Rama A. Salhi et al, Frequency of Discordant Documentation of Patient Race and Ethnicity, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0549

Lahia Yemane et al, Race and Ethnicity Data in Electronic Health Records—Striving for Clarity, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.0522