Fixing Health Care Wait Times Once And For All Research Paper

A wide variety of healthcare professionals standby when it comes to patient care resulting in a 16,000,000 Ontario-wide healthcare service buildup. In the August 8, 2021, editorial by Toronto Star titled “Fixing health-care wait times once and for all” exposure of the one solution to long wait times is effective in the Canadian healthcare field, and that is cooperation between hospitals and specialized healthcare providers. The article clearly identifies that cooperation amongst qualified healthcare professionals practicing in varieties of care is effective to decrease waiting times and improve the overall health of the patient.

The article shares a valid opinion which is an eyeopener to the long wait times brought on by COVID-19, which is solved by cooperating with another healthcare team in the patient’s own region. Acknowledged by the writer, this care throughout the country would provide proper health care towards an individual, which would decrease wait times because of the same care being provided at a facility near them as busy hospitals may redirect patients to other facilities. A patient named Tim is scheduled for cancer surgery in the GTA, and though it was cancelled due to a COVID-19 breakout, this care is provided in his own city because of cooperation between GTA hospital staff and local providers, which in fact ridded his wait time, and since immediate care is provided, the overall health of Tim (and others) will improve drastically.

The author recognizes that cooperation in a healthcare setting decrease wait times which is directly proven to improve cancer outcomes compared to other countries. Medical care provided sooner is always better, and with it comes the benefit of patient care due to the decreased wait times that cooperation creates. Tim can receive surgery sooner due to the cooperation of staff between the hospital in the GTA and Oshawa, as healthcare professionals are able to refer him to his local hospital, instead of waiting in line until the outbreak is over. By cooperating between facilities, wait times are drastically decreased, which allows for the improvement of cancer outcomes, and overall patient health. 

Qualified professionals in less known specialties can provide medical care in local facilities to decrease wait times. Instead of a doctor having the responsibility to provide pre- and post-surgical checkups, these can be done by professionals who are just as knowledgeable in various areas of medicine. The article recognizes that instead of a doctor providing an assessment pre-surgery, a physiotherapist who can assess the situation can provide all necessary information about the patient. By referring patients to other professionals, wait times will be drastically decreased to the extent that care will be provided sooner, and will directly improve patient care. 

Cooperation between healthcare facilities is a critical tool for success in a patient’s health because wait times are drastically decreased. This teamwork model and standardized care can benefit the national standard of care and work its way to solve the 16 million backlogs in Ontario alone. In addition to decreasing wait times, patient outcomes are drastically improved because of the cooperation of other qualified professionals, which proves that by standardizing care, waiting times will be a thing of the past, and that the present is focusing on the care of the patient, immediately.