Disparities of Heart Failure Hospital Outcomes in Hawaii, based on Race/ Ethnicity, Location and Primary Payer

We investigated disparities of Heart Failure (HF) hospitalization outcomes in Hawaii with respect to racial/ethnicity, primary payer, and county (island) in a population aged 65 and older, by focusing on four HF-related hospitalization outcomes: Cost billed per visit, length of stay, 30 days all-cause-readmissions, and in-hospital-mortality.Our findings suggest disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders on all four outcome types, compared to whites, including increased risk for mortality and readmissions. Also, disparities were observed among Filipinos and Japanese groups for at least one of the outcomes. Big island and Kauai counties were associated with shorter length of stays than Honolulu. Medicare patients had increased risks of readmissions and mortality compared to patients with private insurance.These findings may help the state government and health-care professionals gain a better understanding of potential barriers relating to the care of HF, which can further guide them in developing innovative strategies and adjusting the current health-care policies.