Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37379501›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology2023

Organization of Cancer Specialists in US Physician Practices and Health Systems.

Christina A Nguyen, Nancy D Beaulieu, Alexi A Wright, David M Cutler, Nancy L Keating, Mary Beth Landrum

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Geographic distance to Commission on Cancer-accredited and nonaccredited hospitals in the United States.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Christina A NguyenMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.ORCID 0000-0003-3057-0453
Nancy D BeaulieuDepartment of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0003-2388-1376
Alexi A WrightDepartment of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-9776-7114
David M CutlerDepartment of Economics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-4949-8917
Nancy L KeatingDepartment of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0002-8274-4681
Mary Beth LandrumDepartment of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.ORCID 0000-0001-5055-8473
Harvard University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USDana-Farber Cancer Institute · USNational Bureau of Economic Research · US

Funding

PA-20-072, Measuring the Clinical and Economic Outcomes Associated with Delivery Systems: "Are Health Systems Better at Responding to Pandemics?"U19HS024072 · AHRQ · NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH · PI CUTLER, DAVID M · 2015 to 2021
$19.8M
The Impact of a Changing Health Care Delivery System on the Quality of Oncology Care - Administrative SupplementR01CA255035 · NCI · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI KEATING, NANCY L, LANDRUM, MARY BETH · 2021 to 2025
$4.1M
AHRQ HHS U19 HS024072NCI NIH HHS R01 CA255035
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo describe the supply of cancer specialists, the organization of cancer care within versus outside of health systems, and the distance to multispecialty cancer centers.

methodsUsing the 2018 Health Systems and Provider Database from the National Bureau of Economic Research and 2018 Medicare data, we identified 46,341 unique physicians providing cancer care. We stratified physicians by discipline (adult/pediatric medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgical/gynecologic oncologists, other surgeons performing cancer surgeries, or palliative care physicians), system type (National Cancer Institute [NCI] Cancer Center system, non-NCI academic system, nonacademic system, or nonsystem/independent practice), practice size, and composition (single disciplinary oncology, multidisciplinary oncology, or multispecialty). We computed the density of cancer specialists by county and calculated distances to the nearest NCI Cancer Center.

resultsMore than half of all cancer specialists (57.8%) practiced in health systems, but 55.0% of cancer-related visits occurred in independent practices. Most system-based physicians were in large practices with more than 100 physicians, while those in independent practices were in smaller practices. Practices in NCI Cancer Center systems (95.2%), non-NCI academic systems (95.0%), and nonacademic systems (94.3%) were primarily multispecialty, while fewer independent practices (44.8%) were. Cancer specialist density was sparse in many rural areas, where the median travel distance to an NCI Cancer Center was 98.7 miles. Distances to NCI Cancer Centers were shorter for individuals living in high-income areas than in low-income areas, even for individuals in suburban and urban areas.

conclusionAlthough many cancer specialists practiced in multispecialty health systems, many also worked in smaller-sized independent practices where most patients were treated. Access to cancer specialists and cancer centers was limited in many areas, particularly in rural and low-income areas.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsPhysiciansAdultAgedChildFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMedical OncologyMedicareUnited States

Identifiers

PMID37379501
PMCPMC10852402
OpenAlexW4382362171

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.