Hospital Accreditation and Geographic Disparities in Timely Cancer Care

Treatment at an accredited hospital appeared to increase time-to-treatment differences between high-and low-income counties and low-income counties. This heterogeneity may reflect access challenges facing low-income cancer patients. Health systems seeking to provide high quality, timely care must overcome these access challenges as they navigate patients through the cancer care continuum. While a 2.6-day delay in treatment may not impact outcomes, future research should understand why patients from lower-resource communities wait longer than patients in affluent communities.