Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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This study sought to identify demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical predictors of aftercare noncompliance by pediatric emergency department (ED) patients. ⋯ Disparity in health insurance has been shown to be a predictor of poor aftercare compliance for pediatric ED patients within the patient population.
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To determine if differences exist in hospital and intensive care unit (ICU)/operating room admission rates based on health insurance status. ⋯ Whereas there was no difference in admission rates to the ICU/operating room by insurance status, this single-center study does suggest an association between insurance status and admission to a general hospital service, which may or may not be causally related. Factors other than provider bias may be responsible for this observed difference.
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Disparities are likely to present both in the emergency department and within the larger health care system; however, disparities must be recognized to be addressed. This article summarizes the proceedings from the AEM Consensus Conference 2003: Disparities in Emergency Health Care. ⋯ Participants were asked to describe the means of defining, assessing, measuring, and investigating disparities that may occur in emergency care. The committee members who wrote this report were asked to examine the influence of health care systems and administration on disparities in health care, using the following series of questions to frame the discussion. 1) Are all disparities bad? 2) Are only the vulnerable served inadequately by our current health care system? 3) Are what appear to be inequities really systems incompetence? 4) We assume there should be no inequality in health care: does society also assume this? 5) What would be the systems costs of equality in health care?
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To examine the influence of insurance, race, and gender on the likelihood of hospitalization among trauma patients. ⋯ These results suggest that the disposition of trauma patients from the ED may be influenced by insurance and demographic characteristics in addition to the patient's clinical condition.