The Fraser Institute’s 20th annual waiting list survey finds that province-wide wait times for surgical and other therapeutic treatments in Canada have increased in 2010:
From an economic standpoint, a study by Stokes and Somerville (2008) found that the cumulative total lost economic output that represents the cost of waiting for treatment for total joint replacement surgery, cataract surgery, coronary artery bypass graft surgery and MRI scans in 2007 was an estimated $14.8 billion. More recently, Esmail (2009) estimated the cost of waiting per patient in Canada to be approximately $859 in 2009 if only hours during the normal working week were considered “lost,” and as much as $2,628 if all hours of the week (minus 8 hours per night sleeping) were considered “lost.”
Source: Bacchus Barua, Mark Rovere and Brett J. Skinner, “Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada 2010 Report,” Fraser Institute, December 2010.
For more on Health Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=16
FMF Policy Bulletin / 21 December 2010
