Can this surgery model help shorten wait times and provide better care? – CTV

Sept. 30, 2022

Imagine having a potentially shorter wait time for surgery or having ready access to a second – or possibly third – opinion on your diagnosis. In many pockets of Canada’s vast and complex health-care system, physicians have worked effectively for years as a team under a “shared-care” model. Some surgeons are hoping this form of patient care can be widely adopted across surgical specialties, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strain placed on the system over the last two-and-a-half years prompted the head of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Katharine Smart, to warn in June that “the collapse of the current health-care system” is coming. Overworked nurses and doctors, staffing shortages, emergency rooms closures, and a backlog of surgeries during the worst periods of the pandemic are just a few of the many challenges that have exposed long-standing systemic issues, proving just how fragile Canada’s health-care system is. Meanwhile, concerns around patient care and surgical wait times – already an issue prior to the COVID-19 – have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/can-this-surgery-model-help-shorten-wait-times-and-provide-better-care-1.6090718

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