Specialist wait time reporting using family physicians' electronic medical record data: a mixed method study of feasibility and clinical utility.

ABSTRACT:

Background

More than 50% of Canadian adult patients wait longer than four weeks to see a specialist after referral from primary care. Access to accurate wait time information may help primary care physicians choose the timeliest specialist to address a patient's specific needs. We conducted a mixed-methods study to assess if primary to specialist care wait times can be extracted from electronic medical records (EMR), analyzed the wait time information, and used focus groups and interviews to assess the potential clinical utility of the wait time information.

Methods

Two family practices were recruited to examine primary care physician to specialist wait times between January 2016 and December 2017, using EMR data. The primary outcome was the median wait time from physician r

SUBMITTER: Naimer MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8988329 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature