A project lead at CIHI in Toronto, ON. He can be reached by e-mail at
A manager at CIHI in Ottawa, ON.
Healthc Q. 2022 Jan;24(4):11-15. doi: 10.12927/hcq.2022.26717.
In 2020, health systems across Canada responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by making rapid changes to reduce the risk of exposure for patients and staff and to allocate resources toward the treatment of COVID-19 patients. This included postponing surgical and diagnostic procedures. Data collected by the Canadian Institute for Health Information show that these interventions resulted in longer wait times across all provinces in April-September 2020 for scheduled surgical procedures, such as hip and knee replacements and cataract surgeries. The impact on wait times for cancer surgeries and diagnostic imaging varied by type of procedure and jurisdiction, while the wait times for hip fracture repair and radiation therapy were not impacted. Subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic added to the initial backlog of procedures, and it will take time to assess the long-term impact of surgical and diagnostic imaging delays on patient outcomes and wait times.
2020 年，加拿大各地的卫生系统通过快速调整来降低患者和医护人员的暴露风险，并将资源分配到 COVID-19 患者的治疗中，以应对 COVID-19 疫情。这包括推迟手术和诊断程序。加拿大卫生信息研究所收集的数据显示，这些干预措施导致 2020 年 4 月至 9 月，所有省份的计划性手术（如髋关节和膝关节置换术以及白内障手术）的等候时间延长。手术和诊断成像的等候时间受程序类型和司法管辖区的影响而有所不同，而髋部骨折修复和放射治疗的等候时间则不受影响。随后的 COVID-19 疫情浪潮加剧了积压的手术量，需要时间来评估手术和诊断成像延迟对患者结果和等候时间的长期影响。
