Healthcare in New York City

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Healthcare in New York City refers to all health care available in New York City. As the largest US city with a population of over eight million people,[1] provision of healthcare to New Yorkers requires considerable effort, funding, and organization. New York City's strong ethnic and economic diversity has been accompanied by historic inadequacies of the system to provide care to New Yorkers without racial and economic inequality.

New York City Health Administration[]

Main article: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the primary government body overseeing healthcare in the city and is one of the largest public health organizations in the world.[2] NYC Health + Hospitals is a public-benefit nonprofit operating public hospitals and clinics in New York City and serving over one million New Yorkers annually.[3] NY State of Health operates a health insurance marketplace for residents of the city aimed at lowering the cost of health coverage.[4][5]

Hospitals in New York City[]

In 2000, a report from The Commonwealth Fund found that nearly three-quarters of emergency room visits in New York City were for non-emergent healthcare needs or could have been treated in a primary care setting. The report concluded that in order to reduce this strain on hospital emergency departments, the primary care system in the city required significant expansion and barriers to care for low-income patients and those without health insurance needed to be reduced.[6]

Access to healthcare continues to be an issue in New York City. The cost of living in the city has forced many New Yorkers to opt out of their insurance because of the high costs, forcing them not to have medical coverage.[citation needed] New Yorkers who live in low-income communities or are unemployed have limited access to quality healthcare.[6] Healthcare access program NYC Health + Hospitals has been working on avenues to improve availability of healthcare for these New Yorkers.[7]

Medical schools[]

In 2020 approximately 50,000 physicians were working in the city.[8] Medical schools in New York City include:

History[]

Many health care systems in place in New York developed from nonprofit charitable organizations.[9]

COVID-19[]

The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed in March 2020.[10][11] By April, the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City had more confirmed coronavirus cases than China, the U.K., or Iran, and by May, had more cases than any country other than the United States. The resulting pressure on the New York City healthcare system, created a scarcity of hospital beds and available intensive care unit space, requiring the institution of emergency measures, including the deployment of the hospital ship USNS Comfort to New York Harbor, and the creation of multiple temporary field hospitals.[12][13][14] The ongoing pandemic is the deadliest disaster by death toll in the history of New York City.[15][16]

Disparities in New York City health and healthcare[]

In 2010, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene began a program to document existing health disparities in the city's healthcare system. The first report focused on disparities in life expectancy and death, and stated that death rates were 30% higher in the poorest New York City neighborhoods than the wealthiest.[17] A 2011 report on disparities in breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer stated that while new breast cancer diagnoses are highest among high-income white women, low-income Black women have the highest rate of death related to breast cancer.[17]

COVID-19[]

Early pandemic[]

Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic exposed disparities in New York City's health care. Prior to the pandemic, the Upper East Side of Manhattan had 27 times the number of primary care providers in Queens neighborhoods Elmhurst and Corona eight times the city average. The same Queens communities facing a dearth of primary care had a COVID-19 infection rate four times that of Manhattan' East Side and a death rate six times higher.[18] Multiple reports showed that minority communities in New York City were severely affected by COVID-19 partially due to higher population density in minority-dominated neighborhoods and a higher rate of co-morbidities.[19][20]

COVID-19 testing[]

A study done through the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2020 found that distribution of COVID-19 testing in New York City was more egalitarian than income distribution across the city. However, the same study found significant disparity in test results across income levels; moving from the poorest ZIP codes to the wealthiest was associated with an increase in negative test results from 38 to 65 percent.[21] In New York City during the pandemic it was very difficult to get tested or treated.[citation needed]

Vaccination[]

Early distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in New York City faced logistical obstacles including supply issues.[22] In some cases, concerns over eligibility resulted in vaccine doses being discarded. In early January 2021, New York State responded by expanding its eligibility criteria.[23] Despite this, short supply, extended wait times, and difficulties with eligibility and registration remained obstacles.[24] In addition, early data showed demographic disparities in vaccine distribution. As of January 31, 2021, 48% of people receiving vaccine doses were reported as white, compared with 11%, 15%, and 15% of Black, Asian, and Latinx individuals respectively, though 40% of vaccine recipients at the time had not had demographic data collected.[25] As of February 6, 2021, over 650,000 people in New York City had received at least one vaccine dose.[26] Vaccine hesitancy has been an issue in New York City, especially in low-income neighborhoods. Many Black New Yorkers cited fear and suspicion of the government entities advocating vaccination.[27] New York City's vaccination rates improved significantly with city and state mandates.[28]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "New York City, New York Population 2021". World Population Review. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  2. ^ "About the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene". NYC.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  3. ^ "About NYC Health + Hospitals". NYC Health + Hospitals. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  4. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". New York State of Health. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  5. ^ "NY State of Health Awarded $1.1 Million to Help More New Yorkers Access Affordable Health Coverage". New York State Department of Health. 2021-09-17.
  6. ^ a b Billings, J; Parikh, N; Mijanovich, T (Nov 2000). "Emergency department use in New York City: a substitute for primary care?". Issue Brief (Commonwealth Fund) (433): 1–5. PMID 11665698.
  7. ^ "NYC Care Expands to Manhattan and Queens, Guaranteeing Health Care to All New Yorkers". NYC Care. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  8. ^ "Active physicians New York number by specialty 2020". Statista. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  9. ^ Rosner, David (1982). A once charitable enterprise : hospitals and health care in Brooklyn and New York, 1885-1915. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521242177.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Joseph; McKinley, Jesse (2020-03-02). "Coronavirus in N.Y.: Manhattan Woman Is First Confirmed Case in State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  11. ^ Hansen, Sarah. "Coronavirus Crisis Has Cost NYC Up To $10 Billion: 'Basic Services' At Risk As De Blasio Pleads For More Federal Aid". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  12. ^ "Coronavirus live updates: USNS Comfort arrives in New York City; Anthony Fauci defends social distancing; US death toll tops 3,100". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  13. ^ Myers, Meghann (2020-03-27). "The Army Corps of Engineers has two or three weeks to get thousands of new hospital beds up and running". Military Times. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  14. ^ "Central Park And Home Of Tennis' U.S. Open To House Hospital Beds For New York". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  15. ^ "COVID-19: Data Main - NYC Health". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  16. ^ "The Flu Epidemic of 1918". NYC Department of Records & Information Services. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  17. ^ a b "Health Disparities". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  18. ^ "Covid-19 sharpens focus on health disparities in New York". Crain's New York Business. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  19. ^ Renelus, Benjamin; Khoury, Neil; Chandrasekaran, Karthik; Bekele, Ezana; Briggs, William; Ivanov, Alexander; Mohanty, Smruti; Jamorabo, Daniel (2020-09-18). "Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Hospitalization and In-hospital Mortality at the Height of the New York City Pandemic". Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 8 (5): 1161–1167. doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00872-x. PMC 7500250. PMID 32946070.
  20. ^ Arasteh, Kamyar (2021). "Prevalence of Comorbidities and Risks Associated with COVID-19 Among Black and Hispanic Populations in New York City: an Examination of the 2018 New York City Community Health Survey". Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 8 (4): 863–869. doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00844-1. PMC 7425794. PMID 32794024.
  21. ^ Schmitt-Grohé, Stephanie; Teoh, Ken; Uribe, Martín (April 2020). "Covid-19: Testing Inequality in New York City". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ News, Eyewitness (2021-01-25). "COVID vaccination pace slows as New York awaits more supply". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  23. ^ Rubinstein, Dana (2021-01-10). "After Unused Vaccines Are Thrown in Trash, Cuomo Loosens Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  24. ^ "'We had hope': Misinformation frenzy reveals NYC vaccine distribution challenges". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  25. ^ Honan, Deanna Paul and Katie (2021-01-31). "Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution in New York City Skews Across Racial Lines". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  26. ^ "COVID-19: Data on Vaccines - NYC Health". www1.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  27. ^ Goldstein, Joseph; Sedacca, Matthew (2021-08-12). "Why Only 28 Percent of Young Black New Yorkers Are Vaccinated". The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  28. ^ "Vax Rate Increased Since 'Key to NYC' Mandate Went Into Effect Last Month: de Blasio". NBC New York. 2021-10-13. Retrieved 2021-12-21.

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