Waiting lists and elective surgery: ordering the queue.
In the Australian public health system, access to elective surgery is rationed through the use of waiting lists in which patients are assigned to broad urgency categories. Surgeons are principally responsible for referring patients to waiting lists, deciding on the appropriate urgency category, and selecting patients from the waiting list to receive surgery. There are few agreed-upon criteria to help surgeons make these decisions, leading to striking differences between institutions in proportions of patients allocated to urgency categories. In other countries with publicly funded health systems, programs have been developed that aim to make prioritisation more consistent and access to surgery more equitable. As demand for health care increases, similar programs should be established in Australia using relevant clinical and psychosocial factors. Prioritisation methodology adapted for elective surgery may have a role in prioritising high-demand procedures in other areas of health care.
Curtis
Andrea J
AJ
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. andrea.curtis@med.monash.edu.au
Russell
Colin O H
CO
Stoelwinder
Johannes U
JU
McNeil
John J
JJ
D001315:Australia; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D013997:Time Factors; D014850:Waiting Lists