title: Waiting times for surgical and diagnostic procedures in public hospitals in Mexico.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A retrospective evaluation of waiting times for elective procedures was conducted in a sample of Mexican public hospitals from the following institutions: the Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS), the Institute for Social Security and Social Services for Civil Servants (ISSSTE) and the Ministry of Health (MoH). Our aim was to describe current waiting times and identify opportunities to redistribute service demand among public institutions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined current waiting times and productivity for seven elective surgical and four diagnostic imaging procedures, selected on the basis of their relative frequency and comparability with other national health systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean waiting time for the seven surgical procedures in the three institutions was 14 weeks. IMSS and ISSSTE hospitals showed better performance (12 and 13 weeks) than the MoH hospitals (15 weeks). Mean waiting time for the four diagnostic procedures was 11 weeks. IMSS hospitals (10 weeks) showed better average waiting times than ISSSTE (12 weeks) and MoH hospitals (11 weeks).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Substantial variations were revealed, not only among institutions but also within the same institution. These variations need to be addressed in order to improve patient satisfaction.
authors: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Contreras-Loya
authors: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors: Octavio
authors: O
authors: Gómez-Dantés
authors: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors: Esteban
authors: E
authors: Puentes
authors: Secretaria de Salud, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Garrido-Latorre
authors: Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors: Manuel
authors: M
authors: Castro-Tinoco
authors: Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México, Distrito Federal, México.
authors: Germán
authors: G
authors: Fajardo-Dolci
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004526:Efficiency; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006768:Hospitals, Federal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012943:Social Security; D013997:Time Factors; D061665:Time-to-Treatment; D014481:United States