The Demographics of Patients Presenting for Laryngological Care at an Academic Medical Center

Objectives/hypothesis: Few studies address the demographics/epidemiology/socioeconomic status of patients presenting to a laryngologist at a tertiary care center for treatment. To identify any possible disparities in voice, airway, and swallowing care, we sought to analyze the aforementioned data for new patients presenting to the voice center at an academic medical center.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data from an institutional database of 4,623 new adult patients presenting for laryngological care at a tertiary care, academic medical center from 2015 to 2020. Demographic data were analyzed.

Results: Of 4,623 patients, 62.8% were female and 37.2% were male with ages ranging from 19 to 99 years (Avg 59.51, standard deviation 15.83). Patients were 81.8% white, 13% black, and 5.2% other, compared with 56.3% white, 34.8% black, 20% other in the local municipality from US Census Data. Payer mix included 46.98% Medicare, 42.59% commercial insurance, 3.22% Medicaid, 5.19% other, and 2.01% uninsured/self-insured. Patient demographics based on primary diagnosis codes were also examined. A majority of patients presented with voice-related complaints.

Conclusions: Understanding the demographics of those with laryngological disorders will help to develop targeted interventions and effective outreach programs for underrepresented patient populations. Future multicenter studies could provide further insight into the distribution of healthcare disparities in laryngology.

Level of evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 132:626-632, 2022.