Comparison of the utilization of endoscopy units in selected teaching hospitals across Canada

There is no information on the number of endoscopic procedures performed at major teaching hospitals across Canada. The directors of endoscopy units at eight teaching hospitals from Halifax to Vancouver volunteered demographic information on the unit at their location. There was a very wide range of endoscopic utilization, with approximately comparable rates of out-patient versus in-patient procedures and of gastroscopies versus colonoscopies, but there was no obvious linking of the ratios of in-patients:out-patients versus total number of designated gastrointestinal beds or total number of hospital beds. Thus, the appropriateness of endoscopic procedures needs to be based on standards of practice and accepted indications. The number of endoscopies performed per endoscopy unit support staff varied widely (from 323.7 to 1065.3 per year), and it would be interesting to learn whether this represents an opportunity for cost-saving in some units.