Long medical wait times hurt economy: CMA study

A study that calculated the impact of long wait times on Canada's economy found that total joint replacement surgery, cataract surgery, coronary artery bypass graft and MRI scans exact the biggest financial toll.

The study, commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and conducted by the Centre for Spatial Economics, was released Tuesday to mark the launch of the CMA's national campaign aimed at reducing shortages of health-care professionals in Canada.

The survey said that total joint replacement surgery costs the economy an estimated $26,400 per patient, MRIs cost $20,000, coronary artery bypass graft surgery is approximately $19,400 per patient and cataract surgery costs an estimated $2,900. The findings suggest that the total cost of waiting for these four medical treatments amounts to $14.8 billion annually.

The estimated costs are based on patient costs, such as reduced ability to work, a lower income and lower spending; caregiver costs, such as family members giving up their jobs to care for sick loved ones, their reduced incomes and lowered spending; and health-care system costs, such as the costs of patients attending medical procedures and taking drugs that they would not have been prescribed had they received timely access to care.

The study's authors believe these costs will rise.

"The cost of providing additional service is expected to rise, on a per patient basis, as the number of patients treated rise," reads the report.

The report calls for more study into how reductions in these priority areas could be achieved.

"The physician members of the CMA are concerned about lengthy wait times," reads the report. "By making government policy-makers aware of the costs that these excessive waits entail, we hope this analysis will stimulate discussion on the issue and encourage action."