Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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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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To describe the incidence of alcohol and drug testing in adolescents admitted for traumatic injury and to analyze these results with reference to race, ethnicity, and gender differences. ⋯ Whereas small disparities in alcohol and drug testing were noted in some minority race-based groupings, systematic racial bias is not evident in adolescent trauma patients.
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The authors use data from the AIDS Costs and Service Utilization Survey (ACSUS) to investigate the extent to which use of ambulatory medical care is associated with inpatient and emergency department use among HIV-infected persons. ⋯ Outpatient care may offset inpatient and ED services at particular points in the disease course.
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The recent Institute of Medicine report "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care" chronicles a growing body of literature describing racial and ethnic disparities in health care delivery. It suggests a research agenda designed to better understand and eventually eliminate these disparities. ⋯ One of the goals of that meeting was to develop a research agenda for emergency medicine researchers working on disparities in health care. This report describes the results of the consensus conference and suggests such a research agenda.