Titre du document / Document title

International comparison of waiting times for selected cardiovascular procedures. Commentary

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

CARROLL R. J. ⁽¹⁾ ; HORN S. D. ; SODERFELDT B. ; JAMES B. C. ; MALMBERG L. ; RYAN T. J. (Commentateur) ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Loyola univ. medical cent., dep. medicine, div. cardiology, Maywood IL, ETATS-UNIS

Résumé / Abstract

Objectives. This study was designed to compare waiting times for cardiouascular procedures in five different health care delivery/financing systems. Background. A recurrent criticism of national health care systems is long waiting times, or «queues,» for high technology procedures. However, no objective data exist comparing waiting times in the United States with those in other systems. Methods. Directors of cardiac catheterization laboratories, directors of cardiac surgery in the United States, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system, Canada and the United Kingdom and directors of cardiology clinics in Sweden were asked to respond to a mailed questionnaire as to how long it would take to obtain coronary angiography or coronary artery bypass surgery, or both, for specified case scenarios at their institutions. Results. Significant differences in waiting times (p<0.00001) were found among the systems for all four scenarios (elective and urgent angiography, elective and urgent bypass surgery). Compared with non-VA hospitals in the United States, waiting times were significantly longer in all systems, with the exception of waiting times for urgent surgery in the U.S. VA hospitals (p=0.9). The longest waiting times for all four procedures were reported in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Canada, with some waiting times for elective procedures >9 months. Conclusions. Physicians report that patients treated in health care systems structured differently from the non-VA hospital system in the United States wait significantly longer for cardiac catheterization and coronary artery bypass surgery

Revue / Journal Title

Journal of the American College of Cardiology   ISSN 0735-1097   CODEN JACCDI 

Source / Source

1995, vol. 25, n^o3, pp. 557-566 (31 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Elsevier, New York, NY, ETATS-UNIS  (1983) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Public health ; Health system ; Comparative study ; Waiting time ; Cardiology ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Santé publique ; Système santé ; Etude comparative ; Temps attente ; Cardiologie ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Salud pública ; Sistema salud ; Estudio comparativo ; Tiempo espera ; Cardiología ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 20098, 35400005611968.0010