Vascular Access Surgery Wait Times
Reducing vascular access surgery wait times is critical for patients to receive equitable access to timely, high-quality care. Wait time targets are determined in consultation with Regional Renal Programs. Wait times data is used to evaluate, report on and improve wait times and care practices.
Wait Time Data Collection
Ontario collects data on 2 wait time intervals for arteriovenous (AV) fistula and arteriovenous graft surgery:
- Wait 1 is the time that a patient waits for a first consultation with a clinician. It is measured from the date the referral is received to the date of the first consultation. Patient-related reasons is subtracted from the overall Wait 1 duration.
- Wait 2 is the time that the patient waits for a surgery. It is measured from the decision-to-treat date to the date of the surgery.
Surgery Priority Assessment
Surgeons assess timing of the fistula or graft surgery (Wait 2) based on a priority scale from 1 to 4 as described in the Adult Priority Assessment Tool.
TIME UNTIL DIALYSIS INITIATION | TARGET WAIT TIME |
Patient already on dialysis | Within 4 weeks |
6 months or less | Within 4 weeks |
More than 6 months | Within 26 weeks |
DESCRIPTION | TARGET WAIT TIME |
Existing access is failing to provide adequate dialysis or is rapidly failing | Within 2 weeks |
The access is a maturation failure requiring revision | Within 4 weeks |