The Good and Bad of Regionalizing Colon Cancer Care

Hospitals in the United States continue to merge into expanding hospital networks. As the U.S. health care landscape rapidly evolves toward regionalized hospital networks, there is a critical opportunity for these networks to fulfill their clinical potential toward coordination of care, particularly for cancer patients. While regionalization aims broadly to improve care by distributing services optimally, centralization remains the dominant approach. This article explores regionalization and centralization specific to colon cancer care. We examine the benefits and drawbacks of centralization of colon cancer surgery as a strategy to enhance patient outcomes and access to care. Additional methods for optimizing regional care delivery also exist. In this article, we also present additional strategies for improving regional care delivery and clinical integration for colon cancer patients.