: Because surgery is the primary curative treatment for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, these county-level variations directly correlate with differences in patient survival rates. Contextual Usage
: Patients in certain rural or underserved counties are less likely to receive the recommended surgical treatment compared to those in urban medical hubs.
In academic and medical databases, you may see this cited as J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019;157:212-222 . It is frequently used in discussions about and the need for standardized referral patterns to ensure all patients have access to life-saving procedures regardless of their ZIP code.
: There is significant regional variation in surgery rates across U.S. counties, even when accounting for patient health and socioeconomic status.
The research highlight several critical disparities in healthcare access: