Wait Times A Medical Liability Perspective - The Canadian ...

CONCLUSIONS14All Canadians recognize the potentiallynegative impact that overly long waittimes can have on patient care.Inappropriately long waits may adverselyaffect patient outcomes, threaten patientsafety, and frustrate patients and theirproviders. Moreover, medicallyunreasonable wait times are a seriousthreat to the confidence Canadians have intheir health care system. Whilerepresenting only the first step in whatmust be a concerted and sustainedcampaign, recent efforts to reduce waittimes are encouraging and should befully supported.Since the root causes of lengthy wait timeshave existed for a number of years, evenwith immediate action, it will take sometime to achieve acceptable solutions. In theinterim, governments, regulatory authorities,regional and local health-care authorities,and health providers, including physicians,must work collectively to resolve theaccountability and liability issues associatedwith wait-times management. It will take acoordinated effort from all parties involved ifthe fundamental questions are to beaddressed. However, until these questionsare adequately addressed, the CMPA remainsconcerned physicians and their patients areat risk.Accordingly, the CMPA is committed toworking with all parties to put in placeworkable solutions to the accountability andliability issues. The Association believesimplementation of the recommendationsoutlined above would result in the tangiblereduction in the risk to which its membersand their patients are currently exposed. Thereduction of such risk should be animportant element of any wait-timesapproach. In this regard, the CMPArecognizes compromises may well berequired if the competing dynamics ofsystem efficiency, patient safety, professionalaccountability, individual liability andpatient expectations are to be met. Theprimary goal should be to ensure everyCanadian has timely access to high-qualityhealth care.