Ten years ago, Canada trailed internationally on access to health services, with “long waiting times for the type of care needed” specifically identified. In 2004, first ministers responded to the issue in the 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care and agreed to reduce wait times for five priority areas: cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging, joint replacement and sight restoration. In the plan, th...

This paper uses duration analysis to estimate emergency room wait times. To account for multi-phrasal hazard, analysis time is fitted in a piecewise model that allows hazard to change power and direction whenever it reaches a periodic length. Such model provides a marginal improvement from other competing models where hazard is assumed to be non-monotone or one-time increasing. Results, from ap...

Access to medical care is limited in most of Canada, and the population often endures lengthy waiting times to see a physician. The use of new and varied health care providers has been suggested as a means to alleviate the shortage of physicians. This paper reviews the history and role of the Physician Assistant (PA), both in Canada and internationally, and outlines the clinical competencies cu...

Different manufacturing enterprises use regularly scheduling algorithms in order to help meeting demands over time and reducing operational costs. Nowadays, for a better useofresources and manufacturingin accordance withcustomer needs and given the level ofcompetitionbetweencompanies, employing asuitablescheduling programhasa double importance. Conventional productionmethods are constantly subs...

BACKGROUND Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is most common in Southeast Asia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between wait time and length of radiotherapy and overall survival (OS) of NPC patients in Taiwan. METHODS From Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, this nationwide population-based cohort study identified 3605 NPC patients who received radiot...

Widespread public demand for improved access, political pressure for shorter wait times, a stretched workforce, an aging population and overutilized equipment and facilities challenge healthcare leaders to adopt new management approaches. This paper highlights the significant benefits that can be achieved by applying operations research (OR) methods to healthcare management. It shows how queuin...

BACKGROUND Access to cancer care is a significant concern for Canadians. Prolonged delays between cancer diagnosis and treatment have been associated with anxiety, stress, and perceived powerlessness for patients and their family members. Longer wait times can also be associated with poorer prognosis, although the evidence is inconclusive. Here, we report national wait times for radiation thera...

Comment. While privately insured patients enjoyed a 91% acceptance rate and relatively shorter wait times, the publicly insured patients faced significantly lower acceptance rates and longer appointment wait times. Despite making up less than 20% of the workforce, academic dermatologists provide most of the care for Medicaid patients in Ohio. Not only does this limit access to care for the publ...

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease screening using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reporting is standard in many regions. With its implementation, many centres have had higher referral rates and increased wait times to see nephrologists. OBJECTIVE Manitoba began eGFR reporting in October 2010. We measured the effect of eGFR reporting on referral rates, wait times, and appropriatene...

In many countries timely access to care is a growing problem. As medical costs escalate health care resources must be prioritized. In this context there is an increasing need for benchmarks and best practices in wait-time management. The Canadian Pain Society struck a Task Force in December 2005 to identify benchmarks for acceptable wait-times for treatment of chronic pain. As part of the manda...