Fraser Health launched a new online tool Monday to help showcase surgeons in the region.
With the new website, patients and physicians can find the names of surgeons who may be able to perform surgical procedures sooner than others, said Fraser Health in a release, with online users able to choose from a drop-down list of surgeries.
A list will then be shown of five surgeons in Fraser Health who are predicted to likely be able to perform the surgery sooner than expected. With more than 250 surgeons operating in 10 hospitals, it has been a challenge in the past to know all of the region’s surgical health specialists and their predicted wait times for surgery.
Entitled the Soonest Surgery Tool, the website is www.fraserhealth.ca/surgery. It uses data that Fraser Health provides daily for the Ministry of Health’s Surgical Patient Registry. Using calculations based on the number of procedures that the surgeon has performed in the last four months and the number of patients on their wait list, a list of the five surgeons is shown.
The website also provides helpful information on how to prepare for surgery, including checklists for patients, information for patients on post-surgery care and how family and friends can help.
“Long surgical wait times are a challenge across the country,” said Fraser Health’s president and chief executive officer Dr. Nigel Murray. “While a knee replacement or hernia repair might not be urgent, for the individuals waiting, it can be an unpleasant experience. The Soonest Surgery Tool is one way we can inform patients of surgical wait times so that they are able to make informed decisions about their surgery.”
