Canadian doctors plan to shorten waiting lists

The medical profession in Canada has developed a scheme that is setting "benchmarks" for how long patients should have to wait for key medical services, ranging from hip and knee replacement to cardiac care.

The plan, conceived by a group of physicians' groups known as The Wait Time Alliance of Canada, outlines strategies which would dramatically shorten the time Canadians are waiting for treatment and among the many recommendations suggests MRIs should be available within 24 hours for emergency cases, within seven days for urgent cases and within 30 days for semi-urgent cases.

Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, a spokeswoman for the umbrella group, says the plan is the first step and the alliance intends to spend several months consulting the public and governments to fine-tune its proposals and examine questions such as how much it would cost Medicare to deliver faster treatments.

She says physicians are convinced that if governments adopt the proposed benchmarks, patients would begin to see their wait times reduced within a year and it would encourage everyone in the health system to strive toward meeting the goals. Some doctors have already said how their benchmarks would compare with current reality is difficult to predict but one expert confirms that many wait more than a year for hip and knee surgery, while another said waits are 12 to 16 months for MRIs.

Collins-Nakai does not envisage the benchmarks being absolute and rigid and there may be individual cases where treatment simply cannot be provided in time.

The final report, to be released in August, will be reviewed by federal and provincial governments, which promised in their health accord last fall to reduce wait times.