Original articleAn investigation of the relationship between cataract surgery wait times and rates of surgery
Section snippets
Methods
We studied whether, and how, rates of cataract surgery are correlated with and predict wait times. To accomplish this, we calculated the rate of cataract surgery in each Localized Health Integration Network (LHIN) in Ontario and determined wait times per LHIN, both prospectively, through wait-time information gained from the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO).
Wait Times Information Office database, and retrospectively, using Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) billing records. We also did this
Results
The overall provincial wait-time data are summarized in Table 1. The overall mean number of wait days for the 65,520 procedures was 69.8 days; the mean patient age was 72.5 years; and the surgery rate in the province was 540.3 per 100,000 patients. This crude rate is very similar to the rates published in other industrialized countries (548/100,000),9 and age and sex standardized rates using this U.S. external standard is 545 per 100,000. Of the cases, 65% were patients older than 70 years, and
Discussion
Based on the multivariate analysis and correlations, the overall wait-to-rate correlation is poor. The correlation between overall wait times and surgical rates is close to zero in both databases. For high-priority cases (Priorities 1 and 2) that can be stratified, there is a weak to moderate inverse correlation, as one would expect; concluding wait times are reduced as surgical rates increases. However, even in these high-priority cases, the relationship is weak (p = −0.27 and −0.21). In
Disclosure
The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Acknowledgements
We give thanks to Health Canada and Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the funding support. We thank Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MHLTC) and Cancer Care Ontario for providing the databases. We also thank Jim Jaffey for helping with the data analysis.
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Cited by (4)
Regional trends in ophthalmic surgical wait times in Ontario, Canada
2023, Canadian Journal of OphthalmologyWait times and volume of cataract surgery in Ontario: 2000—2012
2016, Canadian Journal of OphthalmologyCitation Excerpt :One must be cautious when interpreting wait times and relating them to surgical rates. Previous studies in Ontario found little to no correlation between wait times and rates of cataract surgery.5,14 A weak inverse correlation was noted for high-priority cases, but close to zero correlation existed overall.
Differences in Wait Times for Cosmetic Blepharoplasty by ASOPRS Members
2018, Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Supported by Health Canada, Health Care Policy Contribution Program, Agreement # 6804-15-2008/9000010-CIHR, Synthesis Grant- FRN# 83308