Minority patients nearly 30% less likely to receive analgesic medication — 4 things to know

Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers found minority patients seeking care in the emergency department were 20 percent to 30 percent less likely to receive analgesic medication, as opposed to white patients, according to News-Medical.

Researchers analyzed data from 6,700 emergency department visits between 2006 and 2010. Medical Care will publish the findings in its December issue.

Here are four things to know:

1. Minority patients were 17 percent to 30 percent less likely to receive narcotic analgesics compared to white patients.

2. Black, Hispanic and other minority patients were more likely to experience longer ED waiting and visit times.

3. Additionally, minority patients were less likely to be admitted to the hospital.

4. "Particularly important is the fact that these differences in pain medication use were concentrated in hospitals that treated the largest percentages of minority patients and among those reporting the severest pain, indicating that hospital-level factors may play an important role in eliminating disparities," said Adil Haider, MD, MPH, Kessler director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

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