Quebec hopes to overcome province's surgical-delay problem

Area of Science:

• Health policy
• Surgical services
• Healthcare management

Background:

• The Quebec government has introduced a surgical wait time reduction strategy.
• A key component involves increasing same-day surgical procedures to alleviate hospital burdens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline Quebec's action plan for surgical delay elimination.
• To assess the potential impact of increased day surgery on hospital demand.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the Quebec government's surgical action plan.
• Review of physician group and hospital association perspectives.

Main Results:

• The plan aims to boost same-day surgeries to reduce hospital occupancy.
• Physician groups generally endorse the initiative.

Conclusions:

• The Quebec Hospital Association has raised concerns regarding the adequacy of community care support for expanded day surgery.
• Successful implementation hinges on robust post-operative community care infrastructure.