Wait times methodology

The Ministry of Health tracks wait times for various surgical procedures at B.C. Hospitals. The Wait List Registry includes data for 95 percent of all scheduled surgery in B.C., from about 1,100 doctors at 41 of B.C.'s largest hospitals.

Calculating a median wait time in weeks is the standard way to measure a wait time. An example of a median wait time: For all the people who had their surgeries in the past three months, half waited less than the median wait time. For example, if a median wait time is four weeks, then half the people have their surgeries before and half after four weeks.

The median wait times on this website are calculated from the wait times for surgeries and procedures performed over the past three months in B.C.

Cancer services and heart surgery are monitored using other registries.

The Ministry of Health is working with the British Columbia Medical Association to develop ways to measure wait times.

Last Revised: December 17, 2007