Table 3.
Health Care Utilization and Adverse Outcomes after an OUD-Related Event, According to Race and Ethnic Group.*
| Variable | Black (N = 3937) | Hispanic (N =2105) | White (N = 19,862) | Adjusted Difference (95% CI) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black vs. White | Hispanic vs. White | Hispanic vs. Black | ||||
| All ambulatory visits | ||||||
| ≥1 Visit in 180 days — no. (%) | 3296 (83.7) | 1745 (82.9) | 17,460 (87.9) | −4.9 (−6.9 to −2.9) | −2.6 (−4.4 to −0.8) | 2.3 (−0.2 to 4.8) |
| No. of visits | 6.6±6.7 | 6.7±7.3 | 7.6±7.2 | −0.9 (−1.3 to −0.6) | −0.6 (−0.9 to −0.3) | 0.3 (−0.1 to 0.8) |
| Emergency department visit | ||||||
| ≥1 Visit in 180 days — no. (%) | 2771 (70.4) | 1437 (68.3) | 13,342 (67.2) | 4.9 (3.5 to 6.3) | 0.6 (−1.6 to 2.9) | −4.3 (−6.5 to −2.1) |
| No. of visits | 3.2±6.8 | 2.6±5.0 | 2.4±4.1 | 0.9 (0.5 to 1.2) | 0.02 (−0.2 to 0.2) | −0.8 (−1.2 to −0.4) |
| Hospitalization | ||||||
| ≥1 Hospitalization in 180 days — no. (%) | 1903 (48.3) | 949 (45.1) | 9,033 (45.5) | 3.3 (1.1 to 5.6) | −1.0 (−3.0 to 1.0) | −4.3 (−7.2 to −1.4) |
| No. of visits | 1.2±1.9 | 1.0±1.6 | 0.9±1.5 | 0.2 (0.1 to 0.4) | −0.01 (−0.1 to 0.1) | −0.3 (−0.3 to −0.2) |
| Overdose event | ||||||
| ≥1 Event in 180 days — no. (%) | 291 (7.4) | 153 (7.3) | 1,288 (6.5) | 0.6 (−0.7 to 1.8) | 0.3 (−0.7 to 1.3) | −0.3 (−1.7 to 1.1) |
| No. of events | 0.1±0.4 | 0.1±0.4 | 0.1±0.3 | 0.01 (−0.01 to 0.03) | 0.01 (−0.01 to 0.02) | 0.0 (−0.02 to 0.02) |
The unit of analysis was the index event. Unadjusted outcomes should be interpreted as the occurrence or mean value of each outcome in the 180 days after an index event. Columns show adjusted marginal differences for each possible combination of race and ethnic group. Differences between percentages are in percentage points. We estimated adjusted differences for all two-way combinations of groups (Black vs. White, Hispanic vs. White, and Hispanic vs. Black) for each outcome. Models included a set of indicator variables for race, sex, an interaction term for race by sex, age, chronic condition count out of 60 conditions, and state of residence. Reported 95% confidence intervals reflect Huber-White adjusted standard errors to account for the correlation of observations within state of residence. Index event types that were included in the models were a nonfatal opioid overdose treated in the emergency department or inpatient setting, hospitalization with an injection drug use-related infection, and inpatient or residential rehabilitation or detoxification stay with a primary diagnosis of OUD.