Wait times in Ontario have been a significant problem for many years.With an increase in our growing population and the "baby boomers" nearing the age where they will require more healthcare, our healthcare system will continuously face challenges. As part of the 2017-2018 budget, Ontario will invest 1.3 billion dollars over a three-year period, in an effort to decrease the extreme wait times. As stated on the Government of Ontario's website, $529.7 million of the $1.3 billion dollar investment will be used for priority services within the hopsital sectors in order to improve quality-based procedures, which in turn reduce wait-times. In the last fourteen years, the Govenment has invested more than $2 billion to reduce wait times, therefore, by having the Ontario Government allocate over $1.3 billion in 2017-2018, demonstrates a significant commitment to reducing wait-times in our health care system. …show more content…
Based on a number of articles I have read, it is evident that the Government of Ontario is redirecting its funding to areas which require it most such as home care, long-term care, mental health and addiction services, and even telemedicine. It is also important to note that a key factor to reducing wait-times is to also increase the number of critical services to hospitals. As listed on the article titled Investments to Reduce Wait Times, on the Government Ontario's website, this includes services such as cardiovascular procedures, improving care for patients with rare diseases, and
...hat take place regarding health policy. Primary care reform is taking place across country. (Krieger, 2013).Canada is working towards integrating nurse practitioners in all provinces which may help lower wait times (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010).
According to Statistics Canada Report 2013, “life expectancy in Canada is one of the highest in the world” and it is expected to grow, making the aging population a key driver to our health-systems reform. By 2036, seniors in Canada will comprise of twenty five per cent of the population (CIHI, 2011). Seniors, those aged 65 years and older are the fastest growing population in Canada. Currently there are approximately 4.8 million Canadians aged 65 or greater. It is projected that this number will increase to 9 to 10 million by 2036 (Priest, 2011). As the population get aged the demand for health care and related services are expected to increase. Currently, the hospitals in Ontario are frequent faced with overcrowding emergency departments, full of admitted patients and beds for those patients to be transferred to. It has been reported that 20% of the acute care beds in the hospital setting are occupied by patients that do not require acute hospital care. These patients are termed Alternate Level of Care (ALC). ALC is “When a patient is occupying a bed in a hospital and does not require the intensity of resources/services provided in this care setting (Acute, Complex, Continuing Care, Mental Health or Rehabilitation), the patient must be designated Alternate level of Care at that time by the physician or her/his delegate.” (Ontario Home Care Association, 2009, p.1).
The Saskatchewan heath care system is made up of several provincial, regional and local organizations, which provide the people their basic right to reasonable health care (“Health Systems,” 2014). Not having enough health care providers seem to be a problem, which Canada as a whole has struggled with (“College of Family,” 2014). The shortages of medical providers have lead to major discrepancies in the level of patient care between major urban centers and rural areas (Howlett, 2013). In the case of Saskatchewan many communities are facing this challenge, not only rural areas but also the capital city of the province (“Saskatchewan ER,” 2013). Stats Canada has showed that the number of physicians is at a historic high, yet Saskatchewan still face shortages (Howlett, 2013).
Time – there is only a little amount of time available to respond to many different priorities, some services may have waiting lists, this will cause the service users to not have enough time with the professionals and may have to wait for their
If Canada wishes to improve upon the quality of health care and tackle down generic issues in health care, one should consider integrating services. Integrated health services are considered part of the solution for the recurrent problem, one example being the continuous problem of chronic disease in Canada’s health care system. Integrated services come in many formats; horizontal, vertical, clinical, and physician.
The Crowded Clinic Case Study (Colorado State University - Global, n.d.) discusses the issues of practice management as they apply to access to care. Access to care may be as inconvenient as lengthy patient wait times to issues far more serious that may have a profound effect on the health and well-being of a single patient or an entire cohort.
Health care has become an issue because of the shortage of doctors in Canada. Many of them are either going to the U.S.A. or going to other countries to practice in hospitals and clinics. The earning cap imposed by the government has forced doctors to work fewer hours than are necessary to serve the public. Many Canadians are without a doctor to help them with their needs, and emergency rooms are filled to capacity with no available beds for those who have to be admitted to the hospital. Waiting time for specialist and specialty tests has become so long that someone diagnosed with a major illness may die before they can be properly treated.
According to the Case Management Society of America, case management is "a collaborative process of assessment, planning, facilitation, care coordination, evaluation, and advocacy for options and services to meet an individual's and family's comprehensive health needs through communication and available resources to promote quality, cost effective outcomes" (Case Management Society of America [CMSA], 2010). As a method, case management has moved to the forefront of social work practice. The social work profession, along with other fields of study, recognizes the difficulty of locating and accessing comprehensive services to meet needs. Therefore, case managers work with these
To improve services at the ABC Physician Practice Group, we decided to analyze appointment scheduling to increase patient access to the providers. This was achieved by measuring the Third Next Available appointment system using the following steps:
...staff would not be required to put in the overtime to compensate for the lack of workers. Patients would no longer have to suffer the neglect of the staff because he or she was too busy. Making sure the patient gets the best quality care reduces the time spent for recovery. Reducing the time spent for recovery increases the organization’s finances. Providing a safe facility also reduces the expenses on the private hospital’s budget. Ensuring a patient is safe can reduce potential use of ongoing treatment and services. Hiring the appropriate nursing staff needed can save the organization money. Instead of cutting back on staff, more staff needs to be hired to fulfil the needs of the patient. In the economy today, private hospitals need to focus on the overall long term effects of each action opposed to quick reactions resulting in financial strain for the facility.
Appointment scheduling and templates are built to maximize provider’s productivity as well as utilize staffing appropriately. Currently, the third next available appointment reports have long wait times and the patients no show rates are consistently high for adult primary care clinics located in the Sarasota County Health Department. These high no show rates reduce the productivity of providers and reduce potential revenue. The long wait times are hindering the ability to meet performance goals that could be generating payment incentives for the chronic disease and the complex high acuity patients. In addition, we know that access to care is important for overall quality health delivery as well as disease prevention, detection, and screening.
1.1 Explain the value of customer service as a competitive tool Customer service is valued as a competitive tool by many organisations. It gives you the ability to gain customer loyalty while meeting the customer’s expectations. Staff will have the skills and knowledge that will provide a competitive edge. Most organisations are known for the quality of their customer service. This means that they are known for good customer service or poor customer service.
The case study, ‘Waiting for Clearance’, concentrates on the leadership concept of followership and how it affects followers and leaders within an organization. The company involved in the case study is Alvon Biometrics. The case study and analysis by our virtual team is about the relationship between CEO Tony Bussard, and his COO, Juan Carlos De La Vega. The case study questions concentrate on exploring followership concepts relating to how COO Juan De La Vega’s handling of repairing the follower-leadership relationship that he has with CEO Bussard a year after being hired by the Alvon Biometrics Company. The next several sections of this paper will answer key questions, followed by identifying
...d procedures are now being monitored to improve clinical processes. Ensuring that these processes are implemented in a timely, effective manner can also improve the quality of care given to patients. Management of the processes ensures accountability of the effectiveness of care, which, as mentioned earlier, improves outcomes. Lastly, providing reimbursements based on the quality of care and not the quantity also decreases the “wasting” and overuse of supplies. Providers previously felt the need to do more than necessary to meet a certain quota based on a quantity of supplies or other interventions used. Changing this goal can significantly decrease the cost of care due to using on the supplies necessary to provide effective, high-quality care. I look forward to this implementation of change and hope to see others encouraging an increase in high-quality healthcare.
Turnaround time Unhappiness with laboratory test results turnaround time remain a problem today. Despite increased technical, transport, information technology and technological innovations such as instrument automation in medical laboratories, over 80% of laboratories receive complaints about slow turnaround time. Turnaround time continues to be the cause of customer dissatisfaction with laboratory services (Hawkins, 2007). Literatures reveals a variety of approaches to define turnaround time.