Do waiting times affect health outcomes? Evidence from coronary bypass

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Cardiovascular Surgery Outcomes

Background:

• Long waiting times are common in publicly funded healthcare systems.
• Concerns exist that delays may lead to worse patient health outcomes.
• The impact of waiting times on surgical outcomes requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between waiting times for coronary bypass surgery and patient health outcomes.
• To assess the impact of delays on in-hospital mortality and readmission rates.
• To inform policy on healthcare rationing mechanisms.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the English National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) from 2000-2010.
• Employed hospital fixed effects and instrumental variable methods for robust analysis.
• Measured health outcomes using in-hospital mortality and 28-day emergency readmission rates.

Main Results:

• Found no significant association between waiting times and in-hospital mortality.
• Observed a weak association between longer waiting times and emergency readmission post-surgery.
• Results suggest waiting times may not severely impact immediate post-operative mortality.

Conclusions:

• Waiting times for coronary bypass surgery do not appear to increase in-hospital mortality.
• A weak link exists between longer waits and emergency readmissions.
• Findings support waiting times as a potential healthcare rationing strategy, warranting further research.