Investigating racial disparities in drug prescriptions for patients with endometriosis

We assess racial disparities in medication prescription patterns for endometriosis patients across Medicaid administrative claims data. We use ATC 3^rd level drug codes to identify drug classes prescribed significantly more frequently for endometriosis patients than a comparison cohort of non-endometriosis patients. Temporal prevalence differences of prescriptions (pre- vs. post-diagnosis) were also examined. The endometriosis cohort comprised 16,372 endometriosis patients (23.3% Black, 66.0% White). Of the 28 drug classes examined, 17 were prescribed significantly less in Black patients and 4 were prescribed significantly more in Black patients. Of the 17 drugs prescribed more often in White patients, 13 have larger disparities pre-diagnosis than post-diagnosis. In the non-endometriosis cohort (n = 3,663,904), 21 drug classes were prescribed significantly more in White patients and 6 were prescribed significantly more in Black patients. Our analysis identifies disparities in prescriptions practices between White and Black endometriosis patients, notably in pain management and comorbidity treatment.