Table 1.
Characteristics of the Primary Care Patients and Their Physicians by Race
| Characteristic | African Americans | Whites |
|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 9,111 (10.6) | 79,192 (89.4) |
| Age (mean) | 47.6 | 49.9 |
| Female | 71.1 | 67.5 |
| Medicaid | 19.7 | 5.7 |
| Medicare | 20.1 | 23.1 |
| Rural | 19.7 | 26.5 |
| Region | ||
| Northeast | 16.9 | 19.9 |
| Midwest | 21.7 | 26.3 |
| South | 50.8 | 31.5 |
| West | 10.6 | 22.4 |
| Case-mix (mean numbers) | ||
| Medications prescribed | 1.60 | 1.50 |
| ADGs coded | 1.72 | 1.73 |
| Seen previously | 88.7 | 90.6 |
| Physician specialty | ||
| Family/general practice | 39.1 | 45.8 |
| Internal medicine | 42.7 | 35.5 |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 18.2 | 18.8 |
Except where indicated, numbers are percentages, which are adjusted for sampling strategy. All differences, except number of ADGs coded, are statistically significant (P<.05).
ADGs, Ambulatory Diagnostic Groups.