: There is significant regional variation in surgery rates across U.S. counties, even when accounting for patient health and socioeconomic status.

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.

The study, titled "County-level variations in receipt of surgery for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer in the United States," was published in (pages 212–222) in 2020. It investigates how geographical location impacts the likelihood of patients receiving curative-intent surgery. Key Findings

The research highlight several critical disparities in healthcare access: