The Saskatchewan government’s Surgical Wait List initiative is being heralded as a guide for other provinces to adopt.
The Fraser Institute conducted a study of surgical wait times and found that Saskatchewan improved patient access by 47 per cent in the ten years since introducing the wait list strategy.
It says a key component of the success was putting added reliance on private clinics.
Wait times for patients requiring non-emergency but urgent surgeries, such as hip replacements, were reduced to 14 weeks, according to the study.
While the impacts identified in this study are clearly evident, there is a lesson for those outside the medical world as well.
Innovation is being touted as a key competitive advantage for businesses everywhere but management – people often reluctant to take a chance on new ideas or satisfied with the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ approach – often fail to turn those words into action.
The health care system is full of remarkable medical innovation but embracing new or novel administrative ideas is not always as easy but this is one example being recognized outside the medical establishment.
