A recent study published in the journal Neurosurgery found that Medicaid or uninsured patients have a greater number of safety and quality of care issues when hospitalized for brain tumors.
The study authors used a national database to examine approximately 550,000 patients with brain tumors who received care between 2002 and 2011. Of these patients, 44 percent were on Medicare, 41 percent were privately insured and 15 percent were either on Medicaid or uninsured.
The study found that patient safety issues were reported for 20.6 percent of Medicaid/uninsured patients, while reported for 8.6 percent of privately insured patients. Hospital-acquired conditions were reported for 2.2 percent of Medicaid/uninsured patients, while reported for 1.9 percent of privately insured patients.
The increased rates of PSIs and HACs in the former group were associated with increased length of stay and risk of poor outcomes.
"With the implementation of the Patient Safety and Affordable Care Act, the cause of these factors should be studied prospectively to begin the process of improving quality metrics in vulnerable patient populations," said the study authors.
