Table 2.
Population characteristics among Health Service Areas that have adopted intensity-modulated radiotherapy
| Health Service Area | Managed care penetration | P Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Intermediate | High | ||
| No. Health Service Areas | 32 | 53 | 43 | -- |
| No. patients treated with radiation, % | 4,710 | 24,659 | 24,964 | -- |
| Patient Characteristics | ||||
| Mean patient age, years | 73.6 | 73.5 | 73.8 | <0.01 |
| Well/moderately differentiated tumor grade, % | 57 | 57 | 55 | 0.02 |
| Tumor stage T1, % | 41 | 45 | 43 | <0.01 |
| Charlson Score 2 or higher, % | 11 | 12 | 10 | <0.01 |
| Market characteristics | ||||
| Non-white population, % | 16 | 17 | 27 | <0.01 |
| Population density, (people per square mile) | 228 | 1,070 | 2,380 | <0.01 |
| At least college education, % | 16 | 20 | 28 | <0.01 |
| Median income, $ | 32,800 | 40,900 | 50,200 | <0.01 |
| English secondary language, % | 1 | 2 | 5 | <0.01 |
| No. hospital beds per 1,000,000 residents | 3840 | 3370 | 2850 | <0.01 |
| No. radiation oncologists per 1,000,000 residents | 5 | 11 | 13 | <0.01 |
| No. Health Service Areas by SEER region | <0.01 | |||
| Northeast | 1 | 9 | 3 | |
| South | 16 | 21 | 7 | |
| Midwest | 10 | 10 | 3 | |
| West | 5 | 13 | 30 | |