[Waiting lists guarantee in health care. Some theoretical reflections]

In 1990 a "waiting list guarantee" was introduced in the Norwegian health care system to secure treatment within six months for patients belonging to priority group II. (Priority group II are patients in need of treatment to avoid health hazards or serious long-term effects.) This guarantee has been difficult to honour and has caused considerable political unrest in the recent years. In an attempt to reform the guarantee, an analysis of our hospitals' capacity problems has been carried out, based on the general theory of queues. One result was that in order to fulfill the guarantee it is necessary to drastically reduce the queues and increase the capacity to deliver health services. This article presents the reasoning behind the analysis, in order to demonstrate the necessary foundation for a health policy that aims to reduce the time Norwegian patients have to wait for treatment in hospital.