Wednesday, May 23, 2007
For the Attention of
Hospital CEOs, Board Chairs,
Chiefs of Staff, OHA Board of Directors
and CACN Members
Hilary Short
President and CEO
Wait Times - ICES Report and Latest Data
There is no evidence that Ontario’s Wait Times Strategy (WTS) is having an impact on other surgeries, according to a new report from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).
The study examined trends in physician billings for 27 ‘sentinel’ procedures both within and beyond the WTS priority areas using service claims paid by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) between January 1, 1992 and June 30, 2006.
“We could not demonstrate an adverse impact of Ontario’s WTS upon the rate of non-priority surgeries,” the report said. “If anything, our findings suggest that the rate of a small number of non-funded orthopedic procedures may have increased since the start of the WTS.”
The full report, “The Ontario Wait Times Strategy: No evidence of an adverse impact upon other surgeries,” can be found on the ICES website at www.ices.on.ca .
New data released by the Ontario government on May 22nd also shows the Wait Time Strategy is resulting in decreases in wait times for targeted health services in Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) across the province, according to Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.
A breakdown of the new wait time data by LHIN can be found on the MOHLTC website:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/media/news_releases/archives/nr_07/may/nr_20070522_mn.html .
Questions regarding this Bulletin can be directed to Chris McPherson, OHA Public Affairs, at (416) 205-1305 or by email at cmcpherson@oha.com .