ASO Author Reflections: Equitable High-Quality Cancer Surgery Care: Optimism, Pessimism, and Realism

Excerpt

Regionalization is a policy proposal that seeks to direct complex cancer surgery to high-volume hospitals. The science underpinning this policy is based on the volume–outcome relationship, i.e., “practice makes perfect.” An additional component of high-quality cancer care is accreditation by the Commission on Cancer (CoC). The combination of CoC accreditation and high operative volume could reasonably be considered “best cancer practice” for patients undergoing major cancer surgery.1 However, concerns have been raised about equitable access to high-volume hospitals for all patient subsets.2 If disparities exist in utilization of high-volume hospitals, a concerted push towards regionalization has the potential to exacerbate these differences. Our study looks at the use of high-volume hospitals for cancer surgery among patient subsets during a period of active regionalization.3 …