510 words / 2 min read

A new Statistics Canada report sheds light on how long patients are waiting to see a medical specialist for an initial consultation once they have been referred by a physician. The study is an important step in understanding not only how long Canadians are waiting, but how satisfied they are with the wait times, and how much these wait times affect their lives. It also helps to shine a spotlight on an issue that physicians — both consulting and referring – have been frustrated with for some time. 

By the Numbers

• Overall, about 60% of Manitobans see the specialist within 3 months or less after they are referred. 

• About 7% of referred patients appear to be waiting a year or longer.

• Half of Manitoba patients aren’t satisfied with their wait times.

Here in Manitoba, the wait appears to be a little longer than the national average, and that likely reflects the fact that we have fewer specialists per capita than most provinces, and we lack integrated electronic record systems which mean consulting and referring physicians waste time dealing with paper, faxes, and incomplete or misdirected referrals. 

Our Take

As Doctors Manitoba President Dr. Nichelle Desilets told CJOB Tuesday, it’s important for Manitobans to know physicians are not satisfied either. 

“There’s a lot of time wasted on both ends, both from the referring practitioner and the receiving specialist just trying to sort out where people should go,” she explained, noting that without a central directory for physicians, it’s hard to know which specialists focus on which specific areas, what their wait times are, and if they are even accepting new referrals. 

In fact, Doctors Manitoba’s research shows that both referring and consulting physicians estimate they waste about the equivalent of a full week every year on unnecessary work related to referrals and consultations. It adds to physician burnout, and puts Manitoba behind other provinces that have built the infrastructure to connect physicians referring and consulting on patient care. 

Looking ahead

Doctors Manitoba is working hard to help fix the problems that lead to unreasonably long wait times for specialists, and unnecessary administrative burden for physicians. In addition to advocating for more training and recruitment, we are planning a summit this fall with key stakeholders to take a broad view of the entire referral process to see how we can make it more efficient and get rid of delays and bottlenecks. This will include referring and consulting physicians, as well as decision makers and regulators. 

Additionally, as Statistics Canada points out, studying specialized health care and related outcomes is crucial for guiding programs and policy decision-making to improve population health as it directly impacts patient outcomes and system efficiency. To address this need, Statistics Canada will continue to collect data and provide insights on topics relevant to Canadians such as patients’ experiences with primary care, virtual care, electronic personal health information, pharmaceuticals, and emergency and hospital care. 

We will continue our work to monitor specialist wait time trends and use this data, along with your feedback, to help shape our public advocacy.