Internal Medicine Referrals & Interventions: Cardiac Care
Wait time starts: The date the hospital receives referral for a patient.
Wait time ends: The date the patient’s treatment was completed.
Excluded: Patients who decide to be removed from the wait list voluntarily are excluded.
Diagnostic Imaging & Tests
Wait time starts: The date the hospital receives the diagnostic imaging request from the doctor who referred the patient.
Wait time ends: The date the patient’s exam or test is completed.
Excluded: Emergency priority patients and patients staying in a hospital bed as inpatients.
Cancer Services (Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment): Medical Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist
Wait time starts: The date the Cancer Centre receives the patient’s referral.
Wait time ends: The date of the patient’s first appointment with an oncologist.
Excluded: None
Cancer Services (Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment): Radiation Therapy (External Beam)
Wait time starts: The date the Cancer Centre receives the patient’s referral.
Wait time ends: The date the patient started radiation therapy.
Excluded: None
Internal Medicine Referrals & Interventions: Dalhousie University Department of Medicine Specialties
Wait time starts: The date the patient’s referral was received by the division or clinic.
Wait time ends: The date of the patient’s appointment.
Excluded: Days patients are not available, patients who choose to reschedule their appointment, patients who see a specialist who is not affiliated with the Dalhousie University Department of Medicine.
Surgery and Surgeon Consultations: Consult Wait Time
Wait time starts: The date the surgeon received the patient’s referral.
Wait time ends: The date the surgeon first saw the patient for a consult appointment.
Excluded: Patients who have been under the ongoing care of a surgeon and were not considered to be a new patient for the surgeon, and patients who did not see the surgeon until the day of surgery.
Surgery and Surgeon Consultations: Surgery Wait Time
Wait time starts: The date the surgeon decides that surgery is necessary and the patient consents to treatment.
Wait time ends: The date the patient’s surgery is completed.
Excluded: Emergency surgery patients and any days that a patient was unavailable for surgery due to medical or personal reasons.
Internal Medicine Referrals & Interventions: Genetic Consultation
Wait time starts: The date that Maritime Medical Genetics Service receives the patient’s referral.
Please note: Cancer referrals often require patients to complete and return a family history questionnaire and patients cannot be scheduled until this is received in our unit. For that reason, some of the delay to appointment may be patient driven.
Wait time ends: The date the patient’s consult is completed.
Excluded: No exclusions.
Mental Health and Addictions Services
The number of calendar days between the date the completed referral is received by a mental health and addiction’s intake or referral team and the date the patient is seen (or expected to be seen) by a provider in a Community Mental Health and Addictions clinic (referred to as a Choice Appointment or Assessment Appointment).