Race, Socioeconomics Matter In Hip Fracture Care

Ryortho—March 30, 2015

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have found that people in certain racial and socioeconomic groups are at a disadvantage when it comes to care they receive after fracturing a hip. Investigators based their findings on information available for nearly 200,000 patients in a New York state database.

“The study found that black patients, Medicaid patients, and patients from impoverished communities are at increased risk for poor outcomes,” said Michael Parks, M.D., a study author and orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery, in the March 26, 2015 news release.

Individuals who had surgery for a broken hip in New York State from 1998 to 2010 were identified. Factors assessed included the need for a subsequent procedure within one year; hospital readmissions within 90 days of surgery; complications within 90 days; and in-hospital mortality within one year of discharge following hip fracture surgery.

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