Wait Times for Home Care Services
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Country
Publishing Organisation
Type of Quality Indicator
IOM Quality Dimension
Domain
Defining Attributes
Definition
The median number of calendar days clients waited, from the date that the initial referral was received to the date when the first home care service was received.
Numerator
The median number of calendar days clients waited for first home care service. Start date is date initial referral is received. This includes the first of either home health services or home support services (Home health includes services provided by any health care professional (e.g., nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) and home support is limited to personal care and homemaking.
Denominator
All referrals for home care service.
Exclusions
Other home support services, such as home maintenance/adaptation or respite services, are not included. Phone and email communications, home care services primarily funded by the government and arranged by the client.
Use of Risk Adjustment
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
Data Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Data Collection Methods
Provincial and territorial data collection systems.
Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods
HCRS based on 2 consecutive quarters (to ensure minimum number of assessments to apply risk adjustment procedures). CIHI is transitioning to the Integrated interRAI Reporting System (IRRS) for long-term care (LTC) and home care data. As a result, CIHI will decommission the previous reporting systems for home care (HCRS and HCRS-CA) by March 2025. Reported at National, Province/Territory level.
Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Home Care Reporting System — Contact Assessment: Output Specifications, 2021–2022. Ottawa, ON: CIHI; 2021.