title: Racial disparities in outcomes after cardiac surgery: the role of hospital quality.
abstract: Patients from racial and ethnic minorities experience higher mortality after cardiac surgery compared to white patients, both during the early postoperative phase as well as long term. A number of factors likely explain poor outcomes in black and minority patients, which include differences in biology, comorbid health conditions, socioeconomic background, and quality of hospital care. Recent evidence suggests that a major factor underlying excess mortality in these groups is due to their over-representation in low-quality hospitals, where all patients regardless of race have worse outcomes. In this review, we examine the factors underlying racial disparities in outcomes after cardiac surgery, with a primary focus on the role of hospital quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, E325 GH, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA, rohan-khera@uiowa.edu.
authors.forename: Rohan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khera
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaughan-Sarrazin
authors.forename: Gary E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: Saket
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Girotra
mesh_terms: D044383:Black People; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000401:mortality*; D015897:Comorbidity; D006291:Health Policy; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D066252:Sociological Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American