Study: Hispanics get lower-quality medical care

It's more discouraging news from the health disparity front: A new study suggests that elderly Hispanics tend to get inferior care. The study, which looked at Medicare data from 2004, found that hospitals with high percentages of Hispanic patients seem to have slightly lower quality ratings for heart attack, congestive heart failure and pneumonia care. This ties in with data from the past 20 years demonstrating that minorities get lower quality care in the U.S., even when the data is adjusted for age, patient acuity, income level and insurance status, said Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study.

The study also noted that the disparity extends to where Hispanics are treated, as well what care they get. According to the research, more than half of African Americans and Hispanics get treated at only 5 percent of the nation's hospitals. 

To learn more about this research:
- read this piece from The Miami Herald

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