Gender Disparities in Care Quality Remain

Examining 24 clinical care measures, a CMA report reveals that women receive worse care than men for three measures, similar care for 16, and better care than men for five measures.<'/h2>

This article first appeared May 31, 2017 on PSQH: Public Safety & Quality Healthcare.

Two of the most significant healthcare gender disparities are related to follow-up care and alcohol/drug treatment, according to Gender Disparities In Health Care in Medicare Advantage, a report released by the CMS Office of Minority Health in April based on 2015 data.

Examining 24 clinical care measures, the report revealed that women receive worse care than men for three measures, similar care for 16, and better care than men for five measures. For the purpose of this report, disparities in care are considered statistically significant if the difference between men and women receiving the care is three or more points after rounding.

The most significant disparity where men received better clinical care was avoiding potentially harmful drug-disease interactions in elderly patients with a history of falls. According to the report, 61% of elderly men met the standard of care, compared to approximately 50% of elderly women. Meanwhile, the top disparity where women received better clinical care occurred in follow-up after a hospital stay for mental illness (within 30 days of discharge). About 57% of women received follow-up care compared to about 50% of men.

Women received significantly better care than men in the following areas:

• Follow-up after a hospital stay for mental illness (within 30 days of discharge) by 7.7%
• Follow-up after a hospital stay for mental illness (within seven days of discharge) by 4.8%
• Diabetes care—eye exam by 3.2%
• Management of COPD exacerbation—bronchodilator by 3.6%
• Rheumatoid arthritis management by 3.1%

Men received significantly better care than women in the following areas:

• Avoiding potentially harmful drug-disease interactions in elderly patients with a history of falls by 11.3%
• Avoiding potentially harmful drug-disease interactions in elderly patients with dementia by 8.3%
• Initiation of alcohol or other drug treatment by 6.3%