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Wait Times for Bypass Surgery

This indicator provides the number of days between the date the patient and the appropriate physician agreed to a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and the patient was ready to receive it, and the date the patient received a planned CABG.

50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 

90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care.

Data updated:
Data availability: to (fiscal years)
Geographic coverage
Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia
Reporting level
Province/Territory
Calculation

This indicator is calculated based on provincial and national wait time data for the first two quarters of the fiscal year (April–September) and includes all procedures that are publicly funded under the provincial health plan.

Measures:

50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 

90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care.

Unit of Analysis: Episode of care 

Calculation of all-Canada estimates: 

All-Canada Median and 90th Percentile Waits

The national estimate for the 50th and 90th percentiles was calculated using a weighted average of provincial submissions. Weights were calculated using provincially submitted surgical volumes.

Denominator

Not applicable

Numerator
  1. 50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 
  2. 90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care. 

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Name

Wait Times for Bypass Surgery

Short/Other Names

Not applicable

Description

The number of days a patient waited, between the date when the patient and the appropriate physician agreed to a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and the patient was ready to receive it, and the date the patient received a planned CABG

Rationale

In 2004, Canada's first ministers agreed to work toward reducing wait times for five priority areas: cancer treatment, cardiac care, diagnostic imaging, joint replacement and sight restoration. CIHI was mandated to collect wait time information and monitor provincial progress in meeting benchmarks.

Many factors affect wait times, for example, availability of resources, efficiency of a particular facility, seasonal effects, volumes, patient choice, patient condition, follow-up care and/or treatment complexity.

This indicator can be used to understand access to care and to know how provinces are performing in terms of providing access to services for patients.

Interpretation

50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 

90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care.

HSP Framework Dimension

Health system outputs: Access to comprehensive, high-quality health services

Areas of Need

Getting Better

Targets/Benchmarks

The pan-Canadian benchmark specifies surgery within 2 to 26 weeks (14 to 182 days), depending on how urgently care is needed. As there is a lack of comparability in urgency levels, provinces reported the percentage of patients treated within six months until 2011. Given that the longest benchmark does not truly reflect the experiences of patients who need urgent care, this measure will no longer be reported for 2012 and onward.

Available Data Years

to (fiscal years)

Geographic Coverage

  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Manitoba
  • Saskatchewan
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • Province/Territory

Indicator Results

Explore wait times for priority procedures across Canada

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

There may be some provincial exceptions to the standard methodology each year. For details, please see the Trend tab of CIHI’s wait times visualization.

Description

This indicator is calculated based on provincial and national wait time data for the first two quarters of the fiscal year (April–September) and includes all procedures that are publicly funded under the provincial health plan.

Measures:

50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 

90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care.

Unit of Analysis: Episode of care 

Calculation of all-Canada estimates: 

All-Canada Median and 90th Percentile Waits

The national estimate for the 50th and 90th percentiles was calculated using a weighted average of provincial submissions. Weights were calculated using provincially submitted surgical volumes.

Type of Measurement

Number - 50th percentile, 90th percentile

Denominator

Description:

Not applicable

Numerator

Description:

  1. 50th percentile: Half of all patients waited this many days before receiving care. 
  2. 90th percentile: 1 out of 10 patients waited this many days or more before receiving care. 

Inclusions:

  1. Inpatients at all provincial facilities (includes out-of-province patients)
  2. Age 18 and older
  3. CABG (1.IJ.76.^^ Bypass, coronary artery)
  4. All priority levels

Exclusions:

  1. Emergency cases
  2. Days when patient was unavailable
  3. Abandoned and revision procedures
  4. CABG with any valve procedure or concomitant procedure (see 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Rate After Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG))

Method of Adjustment

Not applicable

Adjustment Applied

None

Geographic Assignment

Place of service

Data Sources

  • Provincial Wait Times Registry

Data may come from various sources, depending on the province.

Caveats and Limitations

Some provinces may have some exceptions and their methodology may be slightly different than the standard methodology. For details, please see the Trend tab of CIHI’s wait times visualization.

Trending Issues

Since 2008, an increasing number of provinces have adapted to the standard methodology in order to increase the comparability of results. When comparing data for a particular province over time, attention should be given to the exceptions. For details, please see the Trend tab of CIHI’s wait times visualization.

Comments

Not applicable

References

Health Canada. A 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care. Health Canada. Updated September 16, 2004. Accessed June 7, 2013.

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Wait Times for Bypass Surgery. Accessed April 25, 2025.