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Improving access to health services in Canada
David R Urbach1,2,3,4,5
11 Department of Surgery, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Healthcare Management Forum
|September 22, 2018
Summary
Canadian healthcare faces long surgical wait times, ranking last in timeliness. Improvements are possible through better public awareness, efficiency measures like single-entry models, and activity-based funding for surgical care.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Policy
- Surgical Care Management
Background:
- Canada's healthcare system ranked poorly in access and last in timeliness in a 2017 Commonwealth Fund report.
- Long wait times for elective surgeries are a significant issue within Canadian Medicare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify strategies for improving surgical wait times in Canada.
- To provide actionable insights for physician leaders to enhance surgical care delivery.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of factors contributing to surgical wait times.
- Review of potential improvements in care appropriateness, efficiency, and productivity.
- Exploration of policy and funding models, such as single-entry referral systems and activity-based funding.
Main Results:
- Wait times are not an inevitable outcome of Canadian Medicare.
- Improvements can be achieved through enhanced public awareness and wait time measurement.
- Strategies include optimizing surgical appropriateness, implementing efficient referral models, increasing ambulatory surgery, and improving perioperative cost-efficiency.
Conclusions:
- Addressing surgical wait times requires a multi-faceted approach focusing on system efficiency and productivity.
- Physician leadership is crucial for implementing changes and building on existing accomplishments.
- Targeted interventions can significantly reduce wait times and improve patient access to surgical care.
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