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CHIA Publishes New Report on Differences in Hospital Utilization by Race and Ethnicity

DATE : August 23, 2023

The Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) today released its latest report in a series on health care equity in Massachusetts, Hospital Utilization in Massachusetts: An Assessment by Race & Ethnicity.  

Massachusetts residents continue to face challenges accessing high quality, affordable, and timely health care, and systemic inequities and institutional racism faced by historically marginalized groups further exacerbate these issues. To advance the goal of health care equity in the Commonwealth, it is imperative to prioritize the collection and analysis of reliable and meaningful health care information on subpopulations to inform policymakers, health care providers, payers, and other industry partners. 

This report assesses disparities in acute care utilization by race and ethnicity by Massachusetts residents—including inpatient discharges and emergency department (ED) visits from acute care hospitals—for state fiscal year (SFY) 2021. Patients of different racial and ethnic backgrounds face distinct challenges when it comes to utilizing hospital services as highlighted in the key findings below: 

  • Non-Hispanic Black patients had disproportionately higher acute care utilization compared to patients of other racial and ethnic groups, accounting for a greater share of inpatient and ED visits, longer average length of stay (ALOS) and higher readmission and revisit rates. 

  • Among Hispanic patients, ED utilization and revisits were disproportionately higher compared to non-Hispanic White patients. 

  • While non-Hispanic Asian patients had lower acute care utilization, they had the longest ALOS for discharges resulting in a readmission and those associated with behavioral health compared to other racial and ethnic groups.  

 

This report was produced using the Massachusetts Acute Hospital Case Mix Database (Case Mix), which includes data reported directly from acute care hospitals. 

Since December 2021, CHIA has published several reports in its series on health care equity in Massachusetts, as well as several research briefs. To read more, visit XX.