PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Wiseman, Sam M.
AU  - Sutherland, Jason M.
TI  - Improving the quality of care of Canadians waiting for elective surgery: an important health care priority
AID  - 10.1503/cjs.015922
DP  - 2023 Sep 21
TA  - Canadian Journal of Surgery
PG  - E474--E475
VI  - 66
IP  - 5
4099  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/66/5/E474.short
4100  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/66/5/E474.full
SO  - CAN J SURG2023 Sep 21; 66
AB  - The backlog of cases on surgical wait lists is a substantial problem for surgical patients, their families, surgeons, health care systems and governments. There are several approaches governments can take to improve the health, well-being and surgical outcomes of waiting patients. First, provinces should consider patient-centred approaches to triaging that reflect pain, symptoms or functional gain, and approaches using multidisciplinary teams or centralized triage. Second, governments could provide prehabilitation and mental health supports aligned with patients’ and families’ preferences during unavoidable waits. Wait times are not going to shorten any time soon; provinces should not only find innovative approaches to reducing waits, but also organize services to improve the health and well-being of waiting patients. Such changes will allow for optimization of patients’ surgical outcomes and reduce the complexity of managing the wait list for their surgeons.