Racial disparities are seen in COVID-19 deathsBlack COVID-19 patients were more likely to die or be discharged to hospice after 30 days of hospitalization compared with White patients, according to a study today in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers add, though, that the largest factor was the overall mortality and hospice rates of the hospital where patients were treated.The researchers looked at 44,217 Medicare beneficiaries (median age, 76.3 years) across 1,188 US hospitals from Jan 1 to Sep 21, 2020.
About three-quarters (75.7%) of patients were White, and the remaining were Black. Overall, 12.9% of White patients died or were discharged to hospice compared with 13.5% of Black patients.