North, A. (2011, February 10). Ohio “heartbeat bill” attacks roe v. wade. Retrieved from http://jezebel.com /5757273/ohio- heartbeat-bill-attacks-roe-v-wade
WHAT IS A WAIT TIME?
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A Wait time is the amount of time you have to wait for your surgery or exam. Wait times are measured from the time your surgery or exam is booked until the time you receive it. Patients that require more than one surgery or exam for their condition(s) may have separate wait times for each procedure (Ministry of Health, 2010).
While some waiting is reasonable and even necessary to plan treatment appropriately, waiting for treatment can be emotionally difficult and stressful for patients and their caregivers.
While some waiting is reasonable and even necessary to plan treatment appropriately, waiting for treatment can be emotionally difficult and stressful for patients and their caregivers.
OBSTACLES IN REPORTING WAIT TIMES
One obstacle that stands in the way of accurate reporting of wait times is that only hospitals that receive Ontario government funding to provide extra procedures have to report wait times. As a result, the data provided is not entirely inclusive. Another drawback is that it is harder to determine accurate wait times when small numbers of cases are reported. Although a hospital may have several sites, and the same procedures may be performed at each site, the cases reported are a culmination of all of their sites making it difficult to determine the wait time for each particular hospital.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT WAIT TIMES FOR SURGERY
- The number of patients the surgeon is treating
- The way hospitals schedule patient treatment.
- The number of people in the community that require treatment
- Patient Choice – a patient with a non-life-threatening condition may decide to delay treatment for personal reasons
- The seriousness of the illness
- Patient Condition – a patient’s condition may need to improve before the surgery or exam takes place.
- Treatment Complexity – a patient with special requirements may need specific equipment or a certain kind of facility which may cause a delay in treatment.
resources. Retrieved from http://scienceroll.com/2007/10/19/
personalized-medicine-timeless-resources/
Currently there is no way to capture all of these possible factors in the information that the hospital is reporting. There is work underway to develop standard definitions for wait times across the country but for now caution should be taken when comparing data between provinces (Ministry of Health).
If a patient feels that the wait time given to them by the specialist is too long, they have the option to ask to see another specialist who has a shorter wait list, or they may request to be referred to another hospital where they can be treated sooner.
Based on a hospital’s ability to perform more surgical procedures, and the need for these services in their local area, the province provides funding to individual hospitals to perform additional wait list surgeries, MRIs and CTs. (Ministry of Health)
In some circumstances, there may be a significant difference between the median and average wait time for a specific treatment. This is because a few cases that are very long can dramatically affect the average wait time. This margin of error grows if the total number of cases being measured is relatively small. Using the median to measure wait times reduces skewing and provides a better reflection of how long the "typical" patient will wait (Ministry of Health).
If a patient feels that the wait time given to them by the specialist is too long, they have the option to ask to see another specialist who has a shorter wait list, or they may request to be referred to another hospital where they can be treated sooner.
Based on a hospital’s ability to perform more surgical procedures, and the need for these services in their local area, the province provides funding to individual hospitals to perform additional wait list surgeries, MRIs and CTs. (Ministry of Health)
In some circumstances, there may be a significant difference between the median and average wait time for a specific treatment. This is because a few cases that are very long can dramatically affect the average wait time. This margin of error grows if the total number of cases being measured is relatively small. Using the median to measure wait times reduces skewing and provides a better reflection of how long the "typical" patient will wait (Ministry of Health).
DISCLAIMER: This web page was created in response to a college course requirement by a student of the Health Informatics Management degree program at Conestoga College for the purpose of achieving an academic grade only. No claims are made of being an authority on the subject matter contained within. Information within this website is not meant to act as a replacement for medical advice.