In 2004, Canada's first ministers agreed to work toward reducing wait times for five priority areas: cancer treatment, cardiac care, diagnostic imaging, joint replacement and sight restoration. CIHI was mandated to collect wait time information and monitor provincial progress in meeting benchmarks.
Many factors affect wait times, for example, availability of resources, efficiency of a particular facility, seasonal effects, volumes, patient choice, patient condition, follow-up care and/or treatment complexity.
This indicator can be used to help understand access to care and to know how provinces are performing in providing access to services. |