The chief purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to examine the extent to which “presenting to a hospital with high technology services at the onset of an acute episode influences the probability of a patient getting those services” in New York State. However, the study also yielded findings regarding race.

The primary findings were that “patients initially presenting to Type 3 hospitals (offering all three services) had five times the odds of undergoing cardiac catheterization, two times the odds of undergoing cardiac surgery, and six times the odds of receiving coronary artery angioplasty (PTCA) than their Type 1 (hospitals offering neither of the three services) counterparts (P<.003 for all three comparisons).”

Though not discussed by the investigators, graphic representation of the results according to adjusted variables revealed that blacks and whites were more likely to present at Type 2 hospitals (those offering cardiac catheterization but not surgery) than Type 1 hospitals, and both blacks and whites were least likely to present to a Type 3 hospital.