Hospital Regulation Reform and Angiography Disparities

Beginning in 1996, New Jersey embarked on hospital regulatory reforms that addressed, among other goals, the long-standing problem of racial and ethnic disparities in use of cardiac angiography (CA). These reforms led to a doubling in the number of hospitals performing CA as well as state-monitoring of minority outreach and access activities for CA services at each hospital. This study builds on AHRQ-funded pilot studies to examine the effectiveness of this innovative policy, specifically 1) determine whether the disparity between black and white CA utilization declined following implementation of NJ policies intended to expand access for minority patients; 2) evaluate how local heath system characteristics may influence CA disparities and pathways through which the NJ policy may have reduced these disparities; and 3) identify promising strategies for reducing CA disparities. Hispanic-white CA disparities will also be investigated.