Evidence map›Paper›PMID 16509992›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2006

Seasonality of service provision in hip and knee surgery: a possible contributor to waiting times? A time series analysis.

Ross E G Upshur, Rahim Moineddin, Eric J Crighton, Muhammad Mamdani

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ross E G UpshurPrimary Care Research Unit, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. ross.upshur@sw.ca
Rahim Moineddin
Eric J Crighton
Muhammad Mamdani
University of Toronto · CAHealth Sciences Centre · CASunnybrook Health Science Centre · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe question of how best to reduce waiting times for health care, particularly surgical procedures such as hip and knee replacements is among the most pressing concern of the Canadian health care system. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that significant seasonal variation exists in the performance of hip and knee replacement surgery in the province of Ontario.

methodsWe performed a retrospective, cross-sectional time series analysis examining all hip and knee replacement surgeries in people over the age of 65 in the province of Ontario, Canada between 1992 and 2002. The main outcome measure was monthly hospitalization rates per 100,000 population for all hip and knee replacements.

resultsThere was a marked increase in the rate of hip and knee replacement surgery over the 10-year period as well as an increasing seasonal variation in surgeries. Highly significant (Fisher Kappa = 16.05, p < 0.01; Bartlett-Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test = 0.31, p < 0.01) and strong (R2Autoreg = 0.85) seasonality was identified in the data.

conclusionHolidays and utilization caps appear to exert a significant influence on the rate of service provision. It is expected that waiting times for hip and knee replacement could be reduced by reducing seasonal fluctuations in service provision and benchmarking services to peak delivery. The results highlight the importance of system behaviour in seasonal fluctuation of service delivery.

Indexed as

SeasonsWaiting ListsAgedAged, 80 and overArthroplasty, Replacement, HipArthroplasty, Replacement, KneeCross-Sectional StudiesHumansOntarioOutcome and Process Assessment, Health CareRetrospective StudiesSurgery Department, HospitalTime FactorsUtilization Review

Identifiers

PMID16509992
PMCPMC1420281
OpenAlexW1868328676

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.