Effect Of Waiting Time On Health

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 28 Apr 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Although many Western countries have reported that timely access to health care has become a significant health policy concern, no consensus exists on the effects of waiting on patients' health. A recent study showed that longer waiting times for hip replacement did not result in poorer health status at hospital admission. The study was part of a larger research project exploring the costs and effects of waiting.

The study assessed the effect of waiting time on health in Finnish patients admitted to hospital for hip replacement. The study group consisted of members with clinical and health economic expertise: Johanna Hirvonen, Marja Blom, Ulla Tuominen, Harri Sintonen, Seppo Seitsalo, Pekka Paavolainen, Matti Lehto, Kalevi Hietaniemi and Pekka Rissanen.

The finding that there was no difference in health status between patients who waited on average three months and those who waited on average seven months may support guidelines for medically justified treatment within six months or even beyond. However, patients suffered from clear restrictions in physical and psychological dimensions of health during the waiting time.

Evidence of the effect of waiting can be used for managing waiting lists at the hospital level, improving clinical decision-making and developing criteria for optimal length of waiting in different patient groups.

This will be discussed in Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes Research.

Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research and help health care leaders to make decisions that are solidly evidence-based. The journal is published bi-monthly and has a regular readership of over 4,000 clinicians, decision-makers, and researchers worldwide.

ISPOR is a nonprofit, international organization that strives to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to ensure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently.

Source
ISPOR