JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects approximately 20 million people in the US and 196 million people worldwide. AMD is a leading cause of severe vision impairment in older people and is expected to affect approximately 288 million people worldwide by 2040. ⋯ The prevalence of AMD is anticipated to increase worldwide to 288 million individuals by 2040. Intravitreally administered anti-VEGF treatment is first-line therapy for exudative neovascular AMD.
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Equity is an essential domain of health care quality. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed 2 Disparity Methods that together assess equity in clinical outcomes. ⋯ A minority of hospitals achieved equitable readmissions. Notably, hospitals with equitable readmissions were characteristically different from those without. For example, hospitals with equitable readmissions served fewer Black patients, reinforcing the role of structural racism in hospital-level inequities. Implementation of an equitable readmission measure must consider unequal distribution of at-risk patients among hospitals.