Operational change | Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Staffing levels | Baseline | ⇑ | ⇑ |
Surgical target† | 180 | 300 | 270 |
Physician referral rate‡ | Baseline | ⇑ | ⇔§ |
Internal procedures | — | Follow-up scheduling¶ | No-show policy** |
*Adapted from Table 3 in Diamant et al. (2014).17 †Represents the maximum allowable number of surgeries that can be performed annually as defined by the Ontario provincial government. ‡Represents the average number of weekly referrals by primary care physicians. §No change. ¶Scheduling began to include follow-up appointments for patients who had undergone surgery. **Formal removal process initiated for no-show patients (i.e., patients who failed to attend 3 scheduled assessments).