The DOI matches its Crossref record; 72 of the 73 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Waiting Time as an Indicator for Health Services Under Strain: A Narrative Review
Open accessAbstract
As pressure increases on public health systems globally, a potential consequence is that this is transferred to patients in the form of longer waiting times to receive care. In this review, we overview what waiting for health care encompasses, its measurement, and the data available in terms of trends and comparability. We also discuss whether waiting time is equally distributed according to socioeconomic status. Finally, we discuss the policy implications and potential approaches to addressing the burden of waiting time. Waiting time for elective surgery and emergency department care is the best described type of waiting time, and it either increases or remains unchanged across multiple developed countries. There are many challenges in drawing direct comparisons internationally, as definitions for these types of waiting times vary. There are less data on waiting time from other settings, but existing data suggest waiting time presents a significant barrier to health care access for a range of health services. There is also evidence that waiting time is unequally distributed to those of lower socioeconomic status, although this may be improving in some countries. Further work to better clarify definitions, identify driving factors, and understand hidden waiting times and identify opportunities for reducing waiting time or better using waiting time could improve health outcomes of our health services.
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“Furthermore, these simulations could inform future healthcare robots (Yuan et al. 2023) and ease the global healthcare burden (McIntyre and Chow 2020), (i.e., 40% of the global population (WHO 2018).”
From Human-Clinical AI Agent Collaboration (2025) · cites this paper as McIntyre and Chow 2020
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Metadata
- Authors
- McIntyre, D., & Chow, C. K.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Corresponding author
- McIntyre, Daniel
- Venue
- INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-01
- Volume
- 57
- Pages
- 46958020910305-46958020910305
- ISSN
- 0046-9580 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7243
- PMC
- PMC7235968
- OpenAlex
- W3021632058
- Cited by
- 219
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 3.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1105447)
- National Heart Foundation of Australia (100808)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare Systems and Practices
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Emergency and Acute Care Studies
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Services Management and Policy
- Keywords
- waiting time, health care access, healthcare system strain, elective surgery waiting lists, emergency department waiting times, socioeconomic inequalities in health care, international comparability, health policy
- MeSH terms
- Australia, Emergency Service, Hospital, England, Europe, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Socioeconomic Factors, Waiting Lists, Global Health, Elective Surgical Procedures, Healthcare Disparities
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