Among patients who had a surgery or procedure completed, this indicator measures the number of patients who had wait time measured, that is wait time, in days, from when the surgeon or central intake centre receives the referral to the patient having the first appointment with the surgeon.

The indicator is reported by the priority level with the most patients. Patients are assigned a priority level for their appointment by the physician based on clinical evidence.

 

Public reporting

Timely

Process

1. This indicator is only collected for patients who have completed their surgery. That is, for patients who do not proceed to surgery or for those who have not yet completed their surgery, this indicator is not available. 2. This indicator is reported not at the surgeon level but rather at the level of the facility where the procedure took place. 3. Ninety among 114 surgical facilities in Ontario report surgical wait times to the WTIS; the remaining 24 facilities do not receive wait time funding for reporting and so do not report wait times. 4. Hospitals with small volumes will be more severely impacted by extreme waits (particularly the average wait time). For example, an unusually long or short wait time for a single patient in a reporting period for hospitals that do not treat a lot of patients (e.g., a small hospital performing cataract surgery) will have a greater impact on the average. 5. Since Wait Time data is reported at the hospital corporation or facility level, facilities with multiple sites will be reported together even though data is collected at each site. Wait Times may also vary by surgeon which will not be apparent in this data as it is reported at the institution level rather than individual surgeon. 6. There are other factors that affect wait times for a surgical procedure or diagnostic exam that do not relate to a hospital’s efficiency, to a particular doctor or the availability of resources. They include: • Patient Choice – a patient with a non-life-threatening condition may choose a non-surgical treatment or may decide to delay treatment for personal or family reasons to a more convenient time. • Patient Condition – a patient’s condition may need to improve before the surgery or exam takes place. • Follow-up Care – a patient who has an existing condition may be pre-booked for a follow-up treatment or exam a long time in advance. • Treatment Complexity – a patient with special requirements may need specific equipment or a certain kind of facility and there is a delay until these can be scheduled.

09/08/2017 17:21:00