PSAGE 2015 was a short survey conducted April 20th – 24th to provide a snapshot of how long Canadian children are waiting for digestive and liver disease consultation and procedures. Specialists recorded 7-8 data points on at least five new, consecutive consults and five new, consecutive procedure patients (outpatients only).
Who Could Participate?
Pediatric Gastroenterologists were requested to participate, provided they record the date that patients are first referred.
The CAG is committed to exploring gastroenterology wait times concerns in Canadian children in order to ultimately improve access.
Why is PSAGE important?
In 2008, CAG designed the Survey of Access to GastroEnterology (SAGE) program to provide a snapshot of wait times related to the 18 non-urgent indications referenced in the Canadian consensus on medically acceptable wait times for digestive health care. Survey findings identified the median wait times for gastroenterology services predominantly in adults continues to exceed recommended targets.
The pediatric gastroenterology participation in previous SAGE surveys was poor. Thus, the results did not reflect the true wait times for Canadian children.
The CAG is committed to exploring gastroenterology wait times concerns in Canadian children in order to ultimately improve access. The PSAGE 2015 survey was developed to address this concern, with specific indications tailored for Canadian children.