Decision making tools for managing waiting times and treatment rates in elective surgery.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Waiting times for elective treatments, including elective surgery, are a source of public concern and therefore are on policy makers' agenda. The long waiting times have often been tackled through the allocation of additional resources, in an attempt to reduce them, but results are not straightforward. At the same time, researchers have reported wide geographical variations in the provision of elective care not driven by patient needs or preferences but by other factors. The paper analyses the relationship between waiting times and treatment rates for nine high-volume elective surgical procedures in order to support decision making regarding the availability of these services for the citizens. Using the framework already proposed for the diagnostic services, we identify

SUBMITTER: Lungu DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6560774 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature