Health Sciences 3400A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Health Care In Canada, Orthopedic Surgery, Cardiac Surgery
20 Oct 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 4 Notes: Wait Times for Health Care
Objectives
• Be able to describe the factors that led to such long wait times in Canada
• Be able to describe the physical/medical and economic impact that wait times for
health care have on Canadians
• Be able to list several possible solutions as well as the strengths and weaknesses of
each
The Issue
• The amount of time Canadians wait for health are has steadily increased, and
Canadians are now waiting longer than ever to receive medically necessary health
care
• In Canada 56% of patients wait longer than a month to receive treatment,
International average is 36%
• In 2016, wait times for medically necessary treatment has increased from 18.3
weeks in 2015, to 20 weeks (from GP referral to specialist treatment)
o From GP referral > Consultation: 9.4 weeks (first appointment)
▪ Shortest wait is in Ontario, longest in in Nova Scotia
o From Consultation > Treatment: 10.6 weeks
• Even though we see a general increase from 2015> 2016, there were improvements
in NB, PEI & NF&L
• 973,505: the number of procedures people are waiting for in 2016 (2.7% of
Canadians)
• Canadians also wait for diagnostic technologies
o CT Scan: 3.7 weeks
o MRI: 11.1 weeks
▪ NF&L = 4 weeks, British Columbia = 24 weeks (staggering difference)
o Ultrasound: 4 weeks
Geographic Disparity
• There is significant variation in wait times between provinces/territories
• Ontario has shortest total wait by province, while New Brunswick has the longest
Wait Times by Specialty
• While the median wait from GP > treatment was 20 weeks…
• Treatment by a medical oncologist: 2.7 weeks
• Treatment by a plastic surgeon: 25.9 weeks
• Treatment by a neurologist: 46.9 weeks (^19.3 weeks)
o Up 19 weeks from previous year
• Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular surgery all decreased in wait times
Clinically reasonable wait
• Wait times exceed reasonable wait time in 70% of comparisons (medical
perspective)
• Sask. Is only province where wait times are equal to what physicians consider
clinically reasonable
• Greatest difference: Orthopedic surgery (11 weeks longer than what doctors
consider reasonable)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
