<\/p>\n
In their recent article, CMAJ News interviews Dr. Chris Simpson, cardiologist & former Chief Medical Information Office for Novari Health as well as family physician Dr. Kamila Premji and Robin McGee, a cancer patient whose care was delayed due to the COVID-19 slowdown.<\/p>\n
“About one in three Canadians who need joint replacements or cataract surgery don\u2019t get those procedures within recommended times. Wait times for prostate cancer and lung cancer surgeries are increasing. And those are just the delays we know about\u00a0\u2013 for most health services, beyond a handful of priority procedures, there is\u00a0scant information\u00a0about how long patients are waiting to access care.<\/p>\n
Year after year, it\u2019s been the same story \u2013 that is, until the COVID-19 shutdown compounded Canada\u2019s access issues. As thousands of patients across the country face additional delays in care, \u201cI\u2019m not sure we\u2019re ever going to catch up,\u201d says cardiologist and wait time expert Dr. Chris Simpson”<\/p>\n