Table 3.

Change in Patient Characteristics in Premier and Non-Premier Hospitals

Patient Characteristics		Premier			Non-Premier			Difference in Change (Premier vs. Non- Premier)
		2002– 2003	2008– 2009	P-Value	2002– 2003	2008– 2009	P-Value	P-Value
Number of Patients		51,555	39,838	N/A	281,876	220,661	N/A	N/A
Age (mean)		76.8	77.7	<0.001	76.9	77.8	<0.001	0.60
Gender (% female)		47.8%	47.7%	0.72	48.0%	47.5%	0.00	0.32
African American		7.6%	7.8%	0.30	6.9%	7.6%	<0.001	0.004
Hispanic		1.3%	1.5%	0.05	1.4%	1.5%	0.14	0.22
Acute Myocardial Infarction Type	Non ST Elevation MI (NSTEMI)	57.3%	68.1%	<0.001	56.3%	67.7%	<0.001	0.08
	ST Elevation MI (STEMI)	35.4%	25.2%	<0.001	36.3%	24.9%	<0.001	0.001
	Shock / Cardiac Arrest	7.3%	6.7%	<0.001	7.5%	7.4%	0.54	0.01
Comorbid Conditions	Average Number of Comorbidities	1.8	1.9	<0.001	1.8	1.9	<0.001	0.14
	Congestive Heart Failure	1.2%	0.6%	<0.001	1.2%	0.7%	<0.001	0.09
	Diabetes	26.7%	26.4%	0.27	26.9%	25.8%	<0.001	0.01
	Hypertension	54.3%	57.5%	<0.001	54.0%	57.7%	<0.001	0.16
	COPD	22.1%	17.6%	<0.001	21.4%	17.3%	<0.001	0.15
Low Income*		14.6%	14.4%	<0.001	13.6%	13.7%	0.008	<0.001

^*Low-income is defined as the proportion of people below the poverty line