General characteristics of websites reporting wait times for elective surgery in Canadian provinces and territories
| Characteristic | BC | AB | SK | MB | ON | QC | NL | NS | NB | PE | TRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wait-time reporting website exists* | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓¶ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Wait times reported for more than procedures included in the 5 priority areas† | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Wait times reported for procedures in the 5 priority areas | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||
| Wait 1‡ reported | ✓** | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||||
| Wait 2§ reported | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Note: AB = Alberta, BC = British Columbia, MB = Manitoba, NB = New Brunswick, NL = Newfoundland and Labrador, NS = Nova Scotia, ON = Ontario, PE = Prince Edward Island, QC = Quebec, SK = Saskatchewan, TRS = territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut).
↵* The websites may be reporting data from a centralized wait-time reporting system or a decentralized reporting process.
↵† The 5 priority areas, as defined in the 2003 First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care Renewal, are sight restoration surgery (cataract surgery), diagnostic imaging, cancer surgery, cardiac surgery and joint replacement surgery (hip and knee replacements).
↵‡ Wait 1 is defined as the time between referral from the family physician to the specialist and the first (or only) specialist appointment.
↵§ Wait 2 is defined as the time between when the specialist and the patient decide to proceed with surgery and the date the surgery is completed.
↵¶ There is no single website devoted to wait-time reporting. However, reports are published on the Western Health website and the Health and Community Services website.
↵** The website indicates that Wait 1 reporting is under development.