Canadians with health problems: their use of specialized services and their waiting experiences

Improving access to healthcare has been a consistent priority for Canadians. In particular, reducing patient waiting times for health services has been a prominent policy issue. Across the country, governments are using a range of strategies to reduce patient waiting times for care, with a particular focus on reducing waits for specialized services. Although information is emerging on waits for selected procedures, there is limited information on whether the utilization of services or waiting experiences of Canadians with health problems are different from those of the general population. Data from the Health Services Access Survey (2001-2005) were used to compare waiting experiences for specialized services between adults with health problems and healthier adults. The specialized services included specialist visits for a new illness or condition, non-emergency surgery and diagnostic tests. National-level estimates revealed that adults with health problems were more likely to self-report that they required specialized services. However, the median waiting times for these services were comparable to those of healthier adults.