Overview
PAGE IV – Improving Access to Gastroenterology Services in Canada, is part of the CAG Human Resource Planning Project. In PAGE IV, specialists recorded information on how long patients wait for gastroenterology consultative and diagnostic services. For the first time comprehensive data on wait times from across Canada has been be gathered.
In a related initiative, the CAG held a consensus conference in January 2005 with key stakeholders (gastroenterologists, general surgeons, internists and family practitioners) to derive evidence- and expertise-based recommendations on appropriate wait times for gastroenterology services. A manuscript of consensus recommendations is currently under preparation.
Actual wait time data will then be compared with the consensus recommendations to create a national map of access to services, and in regions where waiting times exceed standards, the CAG will support provincial gastroenterology associations and Ministries of Health to explore workable solutions.
In a related initiative, the CAG held a consensus conference in January 2005 with key stakeholders (gastroenterologists, general surgeons, internists and family practitioners) to derive evidence- and expertise-based recommendations on appropriate wait times for gastroenterology services. A manuscript of consensus recommendations is currently under preparation.
Actual wait time data will then be compared with the consensus recommendations to create a national map of access to services, and in regions where waiting times exceed standards, the CAG will support provincial gastroenterology associations and Ministries of Health to explore workable solutions.
