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WTA of Canada
acceptable wait times:
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- Joint and hip replacement:
patients should wait no more than three months
for a consultation and six months for surgery
- Cataract surgery: within
four months for all patients
- Cancer care: radiation
therapy to begin in 10 working days
- Cardiac care: non-urgent
bypass surgery within six months
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The Ontario Liberals are looking
to live up to their election rhetoric with their new Wait
Times Strategy. The strategy aims to monitor wait times
across the province and implement medical and administrative
'best practice' standards that would assure across-the-board
quality of care.
The first report commissioned for
the strategy was released last week. Conducted by the
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), the
report gives a breakdown on how long patients have to
wait for surgery in four key areas; cataract and cancer
surgeries, cardiac care and hip and knee replacements.
"The data from this report sets
up a baseline," says Dr Jack Tu, senior scientist with
ICES and one of the editors of the report. "It will
help the provincial government measure their performance
as they launch the Wait Time Strategy."
How does Ontario measure up? "If
you look at cardiac care we are doing pretty good,"
says Dr Tu, "but the four month wait for cataract surgery
isn't in the best interest of patients." He adds that
there is still some room to improve. ICES has outlined
14 recommendations to improve patient access to procedures
— four funding and 10 management goals. This report
is the first of many the ICES will be doing for the
Wait Times Strategy.
FEDS
FOLLOW SUIT
On the national level seven medical organizations —
the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Association
of Radiologists, the Canadian Association of Nuclear
Medicine, the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists,
the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the Canadian Ophthalmological
Society, and the Canadian Orthopaedic Association —
have united under the banner of the Wait Times Alliance
(WTA)
The WTA says only with cooperation
between the feds, the provinces and territories can
we hope to cut down on the length of time patients are
waiting for their procedures. To date they have released
"acceptable wait times" and will issue a full report
this summer.
For more on ICES' recommendations
visit www.ices.on.ca
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