Under the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #2 and Memorandum, from March 19 to May 26, 2020, health service providers and health service organizations including hospitals were directed to reduce elective surgeries and other non-emergency clinical activities to preserve capacity during the pandemic. As we grow, we will continue to provide micro-level insights into wait times (such as the wait time for a single specialist) but also hope to collect broader data and higher-level views (such as, which region has the longest wait time for a dermatologist?) However, the wait time data published in Ontario represents only the wait between a specialist’s treatment recommendation and a medical procedure such as an operation. Patients with emergency conditions (Priority 1) are seen immediately. Under the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #2 and Memorandum, from March 19 to May 26, 2020, health service providers and health service organizations including hospitals were directed to reduce elective surgeries and other non-emergency clinical activities to preserve capacity during the pandemic. 2. The wait time for a non-FP specialist consultation is a stage of the wait-time continuum that has not been well addressed and is not included in the currently publicized wait-time benchmarks. In fact, 56% of Canadians reported waiting four weeks or longer before they were seen by a specialist. Reducing wait times is a key goal of Canadian health planners and policy makers. What is being measured? If you are having technical difficulties with the online portal, contact Ontario Health.Public Health Ontario (PHO) is not able to troubleshoot technical difficulties. Understanding how wait times work in Ontario can help you in three key ways: Control. Wait times are measured from the time your surgery or exam is booked until the time you receive it. Ontario Wait Times About Wait Times Data. Stay in-the-know about our newest programs, reports and news. Among the provinces, Ontario recorded the shortest wait time at 17.4 weeks—up from 16 weeks in 2019. An Ottawa doctor says Ontario's push to expand access to weight-loss surgery in the province is leading to longer wait times because of stricter rules on covering out-of-province procedures. Cancer Care Ontario also tracks wait times for radiation and systemic therapy. Provincial targets are eight and four hours, respectively. Ontario’s government will invest $1.3 billion in additional funding over the next three years to reduce wait times, said David Jensen, a health ministry spokesman. Finally, they can see actual wait times, and weigh this against other characteristics of the specialists to choose the best specialist for their patient. Predictably, this headline produced the usual calls of a “crisis” in our healthcare system, a need for a system overhaul, and cries that it’s time to introduce a two-tier system. Ontario reports on home care wait times against a five-day provincial target for: people requiring home nursing services including respite and palliative care people with complex care needs requiring in-home personal support services like grooming, dressing, bathing and bed care Patients, families and the public are central to improving health quality. Then the wait times between consultation with a specialist and Carpal Tunnel Treatment can take up to another 20 weeks. This week, we talk to Christopher Hayes, the chief medical information officer at an academic and research health care organization in Canada. Patients that require more than one surgery or exam for their condition(s) may have separate wait times for … Long wait times - for specialist care as well as other health services - was a major theme in the agency's annual report, which pinpoints wanting areas of Ontario's health system. The web-based Wait Time Information System (WTIS) is a key part of the Wait Time Strategy. A Wait time is the amount of time you have to wait for your surgery or exam. Québec’s Surgery and Treatment Waiting Lists; Saskatchewan. Also learn about other options of care if you have to wait longer than the time frame. Th… The recent release of the Fraser Institute’s report on wait times and access to speciality care suggested that wait times for patients to see specialists are higher than ever across the nation. Wait Time to see a Surgeon. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the Liberal health spending on specialist wait times and on increased primary care access would have an effect on emergency room wait times as well. But we’re far less likely to hear about the time patients wait to see a specialist. Patients with emergency conditions (Priority 1) are seen immediately. The wait time is displayed for the larger health organization to which a hospital belongs. had the longest median wait times of 46.5 weeks while the shortest were in Ontario at 17.4 weeks. Needing to wait this long for diagnosis and treatment results in many cancer patients not getting the treatment they need in time. Ontario Orthopaedic Surgical Wait Times. Wait times in Canada for a patient suffering with CTS to see a hand specialist now exceed 16 weeks in some providences. When Americans talk about the Canadian health system, they often bring up wait times. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk found long wait times for key biopsies to diagnose cancer, with only 46 per cent performed within the Ministry of Health's 14 … Patients are put on a wait list when the number of people who need treatment is greater than the number of appointments, doctors or equipment available to provide that treatment. As a result, almost every hospital in Ontario performs at least a few cancer surgeries every year. Some patients don’t actually need to see a specialist—their primary care provider just needs some guidance. Ontario Orthopaedic Surgical Wait Times. Wait times are too long across Ontario — one quarter of patients don’t get surgery within the recommended 180 days, even after a surgeon has deemed the operation necessary, Barrett said. Learn about priority levels and target times. Ontario publishes wait times for surgery and diagnostic imaging on the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s website. But how long do people really have to wait to get care? It was originally developed for urgen… A virtual consult system can help. Hospitals with no data available will not appear in the comparison table. Prince Edward Island Wait Times; Québec. One in 4 waits more than 4 months. A Wait time is the amount of time you have to wait for your surgery or exam. For this surgery, most patients are categorized as Priority 4. This year, the median wait time for referral to a specialist was 10.5 weeks, ... P.E.I. Canadian wait times for surgery and certain imaging tests have made headlines since the early 2000s, when the provinces agreed to a joint plan that did reduce wait times for priority surgeries after the patient had seen the surgeon. 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). Data does not include patients who did not have the surgery after their first surgical appointment. So in Ontario, you will have wait 8 weeks to see a specialist and after seeing a specialist doctor, you will have to wait another 8 weeks to get the treatment done, which is the shortest time frame amongst all the provinces. Fee codes mean that both parties are paid for their work. Ontario reports the shortest total wait—16.0 weeks—while Prince Edward Island reports the longest—49.3 weeks. “It was becoming increasingly common that I’d do a referral for patients and they would be waiting months and months to get that appointment with the specialist,” said Dr. Liddy, a family doctor. Long wait times — for specialist care as well as other health services — was a major theme in the agency’s annual report, which pinpoints wanting areas of Ontario’s health system. The shortest specialist-to-treatment waits are found in Ontario (8.3 weeks), while the longest are in Manitoba (19.7 weeks). In spite of being neighbors, the U.S. and Canada take dramatically different approaches to health care. In Canada, median wait times for paediatric specialist appointments have been reported to range from 1.5 to 2.1 months. Wait times are measured in days, and reflect the length of time from the decision to have surgery to the completion of the procedure, for those patients who had surgery within the identified time period. The challenge is that in Ontario, along with wait times for various tests and procedures, long wait times to see a specialist are frustrating for patients and for referring providers because these times are also wholly unknown. The ministry also has an online tool that allows patients to find out the wait times for specific services at individual hospitals. *Bypass Benchmark The pan-Canadian benchmark specifies surgery within 2 to 26 weeks (14 to 182 days), depending on how urgently care is needed. Haileybury COVID Hours: Clinic closed due to COVID-19 OPEN via phone for video conference & phone appointments please call (705) 672-1027 Garden River Summer Hours (June-August): Monday-Friday 8am-12pm Regular Hours after Summer: Monday – Friday 8:30am-4:30pm Closed for lunch 12pm-1pm Serpent River Wednesday – 9am-3:30pm Thursday – 9am-3pm Friday – 11:30am-3pm options for reducing your wait time; How understanding the wait process helps you. • Once patients are seen by the GI specialist, 2 out of 4 wait another six weeks for a diagnostic test while 1 in 4 waits nearly another 4 months. However, these trade-offs are hard to evaluate due to the lack of information at the point of referral. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the Liberal health spending on specialist wait times and on increased primary care access would have an effect on emergency room wait times as well. Saskatchewan Surgical Care Network; Saskatchewan Specialist Directory . Long wait times are part of the problem, with Canada having the "the highest proportion of patients with long delays to see specialists." And this is because Ontario has a major challenge in measuring true waiting times from the time of referral to eventual appointment time with the specialist — as the time of the initial referral cannot be easily traced back solely from billing information. Reducing wait times is a key goal of Canadian health planners and policy makers. These wait times reflect the time from referral by a family physician or a surgeon to a cancer treatment centre like LRCP, to the date a patient begins treatment. • Total wait times are worse in medium sized communities, with populations ranging from The study finds Ontario has the shortest total wait at 15.4 weeks while New Brunswick has the longest at 41.7 weeks. To see the impact on volume for a specific procedure, please scroll down to the last section of this page to generate a graph for volume. However, this doesn’t mean that wait times can’t be measured. The average wait for high-complexity patients is 11.5 hours, and for low-complexity patients it’s 4.4 hours. With a few exceptions, patient factors were not associated with wait times from primary care to specialty care. When they began, wait times to see specialists were long. Wait times are a perennial flash point for health systems. The wait times to see a specialist of any kind were even longer. Wait Time to see a Surgeon. • Two out of 4 patients with alarm symptoms wait nearly 2 months to see a specialist and have a test performed. It is in place in 94 hospitals that do adult surgery and diagnostic imaging, and in 78 paediatric surgery hospitals. Patients wait longest between a GP referral and orthopaedic surgery (39.1 weeks), while those waiting for medical oncology begin treatment in 4.4 weeks. They are not included in wait times data shown here. With regards to seeking mental health care, this is equally as dire – sometimes, more so. Are you passionate about quality health care for all Ontarians? Benchmarks express the amount of time that clinical evidence show is appropriate to wait for a procedure." Wait times have been impacted by reduced service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Wait times are long regardless of whether patients are referred to community or university hospitals. Just do an Internet search with the name of your province followed by "hospital wait times." This is how long patients waited from a surgeon, specialist or central intake centre receiving the referral from the patient's doctor for a surgery or procedure - other than pediatric, cancer, cardiac, orthopedic or eye surgery - to the patient's first surgical or specialist appointment. See wait times for surgeries and. Results can take up to 4 days. 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