ArticleCMAJ open
Perceptions of Ontario health system leaders on single-entry models for managing the COVID-19 elective surgery backlog: an interpretive descriptive study.
Article in CMAJ open. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Patient and provider perspective with the use of a central intake system (CIS) for surgical waitlist management: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of single-entry referral models and team-based care on wait times for hip and knee joint replacement in Ontario: a simulation study.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025Article
- Article
- Improving access to chronic pain care with central referral and triage: The 6-year findings from a single-entry model.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2024Article
- Referring and Specialist Physician Gender and Specialist Billing.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Delivery and Prioritization of Surgical Care in Canada During COVID-19: An Environmental Scan.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Early Adoption of Thyroid Radiofrequency Ablation in Canada: Physician Experiences, Barriers, and Facilitators to Implementation.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
- Surgeon perspectives on surgical wait times and the single-entry model: challenges and opportunities for equitable access in a Canadian health care system.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgieArticle
- Article
- Evaluating Perceptions of Head and Neck Surgeons on the Role of Single-Entry Models in Managing Surgical Waitlists in Ontario: A Qualitative Study.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
- "My Quality of Life is Not There. I'm Dying Here. I Cannot Take This Anymore." Exploring Patient Experiences With Surgical Wait Times in Otolaryngology: A Mixed Methods Study.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
- Perceptions of Otolaryngologists on Single-Entry Models for Managing Wait Times in Community-Based Health Care in Ontario: A Qualitative Study.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
- A Qualitative Study on the Role of Single-Entry Models in Managing Surgical Backlogs in Pediatric Otolaryngology Part 1: Investigating Perceptions of Referring Physicians and Otolaryngologists.Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-facialeArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges with respect to access to elective surgery across Canada, and a single-entry model (SEM) approach has been proposed as an equitable and efficient method to help manage the backlog. With Ontario's recent investment in centralized surgical wait-list management, we sought to understand the views of health system leaders on the role of SEMs in managing the elective surgery backlog.
methodsWe used the qualitative method of interpretive description to explore participant perspectives and identify practical strategies for policy-makers, administrators and clinical leaders. We conducted semistructured interviews with health system leaders from across Ontario on Zoom between March and June 2021. We used snowball and purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria included Ontario health care leaders, fluent in English or French, in positions relevant to managing the elective surgery backlog. Exclusion criteria were individuals who work outside Ontario, or do not hold relevant roles.
resultsOur interviews with 10 health system leaders - including hospital chief executive officers, surgeons, administrators and policy experts - resulted in 5 emergent domains: perceptions of the backlog, operationalizing and financing SEMs, barriers, facilitators, and equity and patient factors. All participants emphasized the need for clinical leaders to champion SEMs and the utility of SEMs in managing wait-lists for high-volume, low-acuity, low-complexity and low-variation surgeries.
interpretationAlthough SEMs are no panacea, the participants in our study stated that they believe SEMs can improve quality and reduce variability in wait times when SEMs are designed to address local needs and are implemented with buy-in from champions. Health care leaders should consider SEMs for improving surgical backlog management in their local jurisdictions.
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