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Patient friendly website and
independent data council strengthen wait time strategy -
Mar. 20, 2007
Government Implements Kirby Recommendations as
Wait Times Decline
Clinton – The
McGuinty government continues to make progress in reporting on and
reducing wait times for key services with the launch of a more
patient-friendly wait time website and the creation of an independent
Wait Times Data Certification Council, Carol Mitchell, MPP announced
today on behalf of Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.
“For more than a
year, through this ground-breaking website, we’ve been providing people
in Huron-Bruce with information on how Ontario has become a leader in
managing and reducing wait times,” Carol Mitchell said. “We’ve now
revamped the website, responding to issues around the accuracy of the
data and making it more user-friendly. It’s now easier for Ontarians to
find the wait time information they need to know.”
By visiting
www.ontariowaittimes.com,
people in Huron-Bruce can see how long patients are waiting for
treatment in the five key services that are part of the government’s
Wait Time Strategy – cataract surgery, cancer surgery, total joint hip
and knee replacements, selected cardiac procedures, and MRI/CT exams.
Updated information is posted on the website every two months.
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Carol Mitchell
said the government has responded to Senator Michael Kirby’s recent
review of Ontario’s Wait Time Information System by:
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· Making the
website more user-friendly with the addition of consumer and health
care provider sections, and using simpler language to explain the
data to the public.
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· Creating a Data
Certification Council that will review the processes on how the wait
time information is collected and reported prior to its public
display on the Ontario government website. The council will consist
of Michael Decter, Chair of Cancer Quality Council of Ontario;
Graham Scott, chair of the Canadian Institute for Health
Information; and Hilary Short, President and CEO of the Ontario
Hospital Association;
There have been more
than three million hits to the website since it was originally launched
in October 2005.
Since 2005, because
of the government’s investment of $614 million in more than 700,000
additional procedures and innovative health care partnerships,
considerable progress has been made in reducing wait times.
Visitors to the
re-launched web site will find the latest data showing that wait times,
, measured from the decision to treat, until the treatment is completed,
are down in all five key health service areas in comparison to when the
first comprehensive wait times data was collected in August-September of
2005.
The investments made
in the South West LHIN have resulted in a 42 per cent decrease for
cataract surgery wait times, a 28 per-cent drop in for knee
replacements, a 45 per-cent drop for hip replacements, a 22 per-cent
decline for angiography, 32 per-cent decrease for angioplasty, a six
per-cent reduction for cardiac bypass surgery, and a 16 per-cent
decrease for MRI exams.
“We’ve been
presenting wait time information with unprecedented openness so patients
can see where the shorter wait times are and hospitals are accountable
for their performances,” Smitherman said.
Today’s initiative is
part of the McGuinty government’s plan for innovation in public health
care, building a system that delivers on three priorities – keeping
Ontarians healthy, reducing wait times and providing better access to
doctors and nurses.
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For further
information
Carol Mitchell, MPP
Huron-Bruce
519 482-5630 |
