Journal of general internal medicine
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Care for Black patients is concentrated at a relatively small proportion of all US hospitals. Some previous studies have documented quality deficits at Black-serving hospitals, which may be due to inequities in financial resources for care. ⋯ US hospital financing effectively assigns a lower dollar value to the care of Black patients. To reduce disparities in care, health financing reforms should eliminate the underpayment of hospitals serving a large share of Black patients.
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Websites are important tools for programs to provide future residency applicants with freely accessible information regarding their program, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. ⋯ Graduate medical education programs can enhance information for current and prospective applicants about DEI initiatives on their websites. Including DEI initiatives on residency websites may improve diversity recruitment efforts.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, it is critical to understand characteristics that have allowed US healthcare systems, including the Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-federal hospitals, to mount an effective response in the setting of limited resources and unpredictable clinical demands generated by this system shock. ⋯ In our survey-based national study, lead infection preventionists noted several distinct advantages in VA versus non-federal hospitals in their ability to expand bed capacity, retain staff, mitigate supply shortages, and avoid financial hardship. While these benefits appear to be inherent to the VA's structure, non-federal hospitals can adapt their infrastructure to better weather future system shocks.