Measuring And Reducing Waiting Times: A Cross-National Comparison Of Strategies | HAFF

The authors examine experiences during 2000–2005 of measuring and managing waiting times in five countries: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, and Wales. 

Each of these countries has universal health insurance, with rationing occurring through waiting lists. Although such rationing is sometimes viewed as an efficiency approach, waiting may result in poorer health status and reduced ability to benefit when elective care is provided. 

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Waiting lists are not a feature in the United States, where uninsured and underinsured populations experience rationing through financial inability to access care, medical debt, and use of inappropriate services such as hospital emergency departments.

The authors focus here on the status of government commitments on waiting times, the range of strategies used to manage waiting times, and recent outcomes. The assessment is based on their experiences as senior bureaucrats, clinicians, and researchers in these five countries, informed by analysis of key literature and government reports.