Hospital Outpatient Departments Treat Poorer, Sicker Patients

by Admin | March 4, 2015 2:37 pm

A brickbat often heaved at 340B hospitals is that the drug discounts they get give them an unfair competitive advantage over private cancer clinics. These critics conveniently neglect to mention that many private cancer clinics cherry pick their patients while 340B hospitals treat all who walk through their doors regardless of ability to pay.

A new study[1] by KNG Health Consulting for the American Hospital Association sheds more light on the matter. It found that patients receiving care in hospital outpatient departments are poorer and sicker than those receiving care in physician offices.

Relative to patients seen in physician offices, patients seen in hospital outpatient departments are:

• 250 percent more likely to be uninsured, covered by Medicaid, or eligible for charity care;
• 180 percent more likely to be eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid;
• 180 percent more likely to live in high-poverty areas;
• 170 percent more likely to be black or Hispanic; and
• 150 percent more likely to live in areas with low rates of college education.

The study also finds that patients treated in hospital outpatient departments tend to have more severe chronic conditions and, in the case of Medicare patients, have higher prior utilization of hospitals and emergency departments.

Source URL: https://340binformed.org/2015/03/hospital-outpatient-departments-treat-poorer-sicker-patients/

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