Replication Package for "Unequal spatial patterns and differentiated city roles in the intercity telemedicine system"

Replication Package: Intercity Telemedicine Centers–Hinterworlds Network (ITCN)This repository contains the Python scripts, datasets, and methodological documentation for the study: "Unequal spatial patterns and differentiated city roles in the intercity telemedicine system" (Nature Cities, 2026).1. Project Overview This package implements a two-stage process to construct the Intercity Telemedicine Centers–Hinterworlds Network (ITCN) and provides a comprehensive suite of structural, spatial, and functional role analyses. The workflow consists of:Phase 1: Network Construction (Steps 01-02): Establishing the utilization network and extracting the ITCN backbone using Relative Edge Weight Analysis (REWA).Phase 2: Structural Analysis (Steps 03-05): Triadic structure analysis, small-world simulations, and consistency analysis across hierarchical and spatial indices.Phase 3: City Role Identification (Steps 06-07): Calculation of IHC/CHD indicators and K-means clustering for functional role classification.2. Package Contents/scripts: 7 Python scripts for full replication of results./input: De-identified sample datasets, city coordinate lookup tables, and hospital capacity indicators.requirements.txt: List of Python dependencies (Python 3.11+).README.md: Detailed documentation and execution steps.3. Data Availability Note The raw patient-level consultation records from the HaoDF platform contain sensitive personal information and are not publicly available due to privacy and legal restrictions. A de-identified sample dataset (raw_consultation_data_sample.csv) is provided in the input/ folder to facilitate the functional testing and verification of the provided scripts.4. Usage To replicate the study, please refer to the README.md for environment setup and sequential execution instructions.