Bulletin

Patient Access Registry in Nova Scotia will shorten wait time

November 13, 2009

Having a single, province-wide wait time management information system for surgery has helped one province shorten wait times dramatically in less than two years.

Our neighbours in New Brunswick implemented a surgical access registry in 2007; and since January 2008 have been using that registry to monitor, manage and report access to surgery.

The usual wait time for surgery in New Brunswick on January 1, 2008 was 90 days. By June 30, 2009, that dropped to 56 days.

The most dramatic improvement came for patients waiting for cancer surgery. Their wait dropped by 58 per cent from 34 days to 14.

In the same time period, the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for their surgery dropped from 1,950 to 970.

The new Patient Access Registry in Nova Scotia will operate much the same way as the one in New Brunswick. It will be used by professionals throughout the healthcare system to ensure that surgical resources are used in a manner that will have the greatest impact on patient access through reducing wait times.

The Department of Health and district health authorities are working together to implement the Patient Access Registry Nova Scotia across the province by July 2010