JointHealth™ express July 30, 2012
This summer, the Wait Time Alliance (WTA) released a new document, Shedding Light on Canadians’ Total Wait for Care: Report Card on Wait Times in Canada.
The Wait Time Alliance, made up of national medical specialty societies, was formed by Canadian doctors concerned about delays in access to care for their patients. Every year the WTA publishes a report card that ranks each province based on its progress in achieving wait time benchmarks for five main priority areas (cancer, cardiac care, diagnostic imaging, joint replacement, and sight restoration), originally established in the 2004 First Ministers’ 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. The report card also goes beyond the First Ministers’ health accord to examine wait times in several specialty areas.
One of the main concerns of the WTA is the lack of a strong national effort to reduce wait times. After a period of making progress, the last year has seen that some provinces are not keeping up.
In summary, the report card shows:
How long have you had to wait for a medical procedure or to see a family physician or a specialist? Share your experience, and it may be highlighted in a future JointHealth™ monthly. Contact us at info@jointhealth.org.
This summer, the Wait Time Alliance (WTA) released a new document, Shedding Light on Canadians’ Total Wait for Care: Report Card on Wait Times in Canada.
The Wait Time Alliance, made up of national medical specialty societies, was formed by Canadian doctors concerned about delays in access to care for their patients. Every year the WTA publishes a report card that ranks each province based on its progress in achieving wait time benchmarks for five main priority areas (cancer, cardiac care, diagnostic imaging, joint replacement, and sight restoration), originally established in the 2004 First Ministers’ 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. The report card also goes beyond the First Ministers’ health accord to examine wait times in several specialty areas.
One of the main concerns of the WTA is the lack of a strong national effort to reduce wait times. After a period of making progress, the last year has seen that some provinces are not keeping up.
In summary, the report card shows:
- A decline in performance for patients receiving care in the five areas identified as a priority, including joint replacement (hip and knee) and diagnostic imaging (MRI and CT).
- While some provinces are expanding the number of procedures they monitor and report benchmarks for, many priority procedures are still not included.
How long have you had to wait for a medical procedure or to see a family physician or a specialist? Share your experience, and it may be highlighted in a future JointHealth™ monthly. Contact us at info@jointhealth.org.
Arthritis Consumer Experts
ACE thanks Arthritis Research Canada (ARC) for its scientific review of ACE and JointHealth™ information and education programs.