Total joint arthroplasty is widely performed in patients of all races with severe osteoarthritis to relieve pain and improve joint function and mobility. Although several studies have suggested that racial minority patients are less likely to undergo joint replacement surgery little is known about the quality of arthroplasty care that African Americans receive as compared to Caucasians. Using data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) files between 2002 and 2005, which contain information regarding hospitalization for Medicare beneficiaries, Cai and colleagues profiled US hospitals' quality of care. Quality was based on the rate of complications including sepsis, hemorrhage, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and severe wound infection, as well as the number of deaths, experienced in the 90 days after total joint replacement surgery To test for a racial difference in access to high-, intermediate- and low-quality hospitals, the authors then looked at 91,599 elderly patient admissions for knee replacement between July and December 2005 in 2,842 hospitals. Their analyses, which focused on Caucasian and African American patients only, showed that African American patients undergoing were less likely to be admitted to high-volume hospitals. Instead, compared to Caucasian patients, they were more likely to be admitted to hospitals that perform few which have been correlated to lower-quality knee arthoplasty surgery. The fact that African American race was a predictor for admissions to low-quality hospitals, provides direct evidence of racial disparities in access to high-quality arthroplasty care.
Vaccination Appointment for International Travelers (VAIT) Yellow Fever Vaccination is given only between 10 am and 4 pm everyday. Mail a copy of your passport to info@hopehospital.com before your appointment date. Yellow fever : · Mandatory vaccination against yellow fever is carried out to prevent the importation of yellow fever virus into vulnerable countries. These are countries where yellow fever does not occur but where the mosquito vector and non-human primate hosts are present. Importation of the virus by an infected traveller could potentially lead to the establishment of infection in mosquitoes and primates, with a consequent risk of infection for the local population. In such cases, vaccination is an entry requirement for all travellers arriving from countries, including airport transit, where there is a risk of yellow fever transmission. If yellow fever vaccination is contraindicated for medical reasons, a medical certificate is required for
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