2018
Racial disparities in discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy following illicit drug use among black and white patients
Gaither JR, Gordon K, Crystal S, Edelman EJ, Kerns RD, Justice AC, Fiellin DA, Becker WC. Racial disparities in discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy following illicit drug use among black and white patients. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2018, 192: 371-376. PMID: 30122319, PMCID: PMC7106601, DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.05.033.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLong-term opioid therapyIllicit drug useUrine drug testsDrug useOpioid therapyWhite racePositive urine drug testDrug testsMonths of treatmentElectronic medical recordsWhite patientsChronic painPatient raceMedical recordsPatientsLogistic regressionOpioidsRacial disparitiesDrug testingCocaineCannabisTherapyCliniciansDiscontinuationPain
2013
A National Study of Racial Differences in Pain Screening Rates in the VA Health Care System
Burgess DJ, Gravely AA, Nelson DB, van Ryn M, Bair MJ, Kerns RD, Higgins DM, Partin MR. A National Study of Racial Differences in Pain Screening Rates in the VA Health Care System. The Clinical Journal Of Pain 2013, 29: 118-123. PMID: 23183265, DOI: 10.1097/ajp.0b013e31826a86ae.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrimary care patientsHealth care utilizationBlack patientsHealth care experiencesIndex visitCare patientsScreening ratesCare utilizationOdds ratioCare experiencesPrior health care utilizationVA health care systemPatient's index visitVeterans Affairs patientsDocumentation of painLogistic regression analysisElectronic medical recordsCross-sectional analysisHierarchical logistic regression analysisHealth care systemPain medicationPain scoresWhite patientsOutpatient visitsVA patients
2008
Patient race and physicians' decisions to prescribe opioids for chronic low back pain
Burgess DJ, Crowley-Matoka M, Phelan S, Dovidio JF, Kerns R, Roth C, Saha S, van Ryn M. Patient race and physicians' decisions to prescribe opioids for chronic low back pain. Social Science & Medicine 2008, 67: 1852-1860. PMID: 18926612, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.009.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsChronic low back painLow back painPatient racePhysician's decisionWhite patientsBack painTreatment decisionsHigh doseAmerican Medical Association Physician MasterfileChronic pain patientsPrimary care physiciansPhysicians' treatment decisionsNon-clinical characteristicsStrong opioidsNonwhite patientsPatient characteristicsPain managementPain patientsBlack patientsCare physiciansPatientsOpioidsPhysician MasterfilePhysician behaviorPatient's verbal behavior