Ontario patients' acceptance of waiting times for knee replacements

Abstract

Objective: To determine waiting times for an initial orthopedic consultation and subsequent knee replacement surgery in Ontario and patients' acceptance of these waiting times.

Methods: Mailed patient survey to 185 randomly selected knee replacement recipients discharged from 5 Ontario hospitals between 1985 and 1990, with telephone followup after 2 mailings, implemented between May and July, 1992. Patients were asked about waiting times for their initial orthopedic consultation and subsequent knee replacement surgery and their acceptance of these waiting times.

Results: Of the 185 patients, 40 were excluded because they were deceased, unable to respond, or not traceable. Of the 145 eligible patients, 127 or 87.6% responded. The median waiting times for an initial consultation and for knee replacement surgery were 4.0 and 9.5 weeks, respectively. Waiting times did not change significantly over the 5-year study period (Pearson correlation coefficients: 0.07, p = 0.53, for consultation, and -0.08, p = 0.44, for surgery). The waiting times for consultation and surgery were acceptable to 93.2% (95% confidence interval: 88.7-97.7%) and 88.1% (95% confidence interval: 82.3-93.9%) of respondents, respectively. The average acceptable surgical waiting time of 13.2 weeks was significantly shorter than the not acceptable average of 34.3 weeks (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The average waiting periods for an initial orthopedic consultation and subsequent knee replacement surgery were relatively short, and the majority of patients considered their waiting times acceptable.