Column 1: Hospitals - These are all the hospitals in Ontario where adult cardiac surgery is performed. They are grouped by geographic region (N=North, E=East, C=Central (Toronto area), W=West, and S=South). Click on the name of any hospital to see more information about that hospital.

Column 2: Number (of Patient Cases Completed) - This is the average number of patients who had cardiac surgery each month over a three-month period.

Columns 3: Median Wait (Days) - This column represents the wait time (in days) in in which half of the patients waited less and half waited longer than this time. Waiting times may vary by surgeon within hospital cardiac centres. Such variations are subject to frequent change and are best discussed at the time of referral. Regional Cardiac Care Coordinators in each centre can also provide information to help referring physicians access cardiac care; however, regional coordinators cannot arrange patient admissions or make office appointments with cardiac doctors.

Columns 4: Surgery Within RMWT (Recommended Maximum Waiting Time) - This column tells how often patients have surgery within a recommended time period, which is estimated based on the seriousness of their medical condition. For example, a statistic of 75% would mean that three out of every four patients in that group had surgery within the recommended maximum waiting time for each of them. Recommended maximum waiting times are grouped into the following ranges:

Emergency Patients - Surgery without delay
Urgent Patients - Surgery within 14 days
Semi-Urgent Patients - Surgery within 42 days
Elective Patients - Surgery within 180 days

Patients' recommended maximum waiting times may fall anywhere within the applicable time range. For example, one elective patient may be assigned a recommended maximum waiting time of 43 days, while another may be assigned a recommended maximum waiting time of 180 days.

Column 5: 90th Percentile - This represents the wait time (in days) in which 90% of patients waited less than this time and 10% of patients waited longer than this time while on the wait list for their procedure.

Column 6: Patients Waiting - This is the average number of patients at the end of each month (over a three-month period) who have been accepted for cardiac surgery by a heart surgeon, but have not had surgery yet. Hospitals with more heart surgeons may have more patients waiting, but that does not tell whether those patients wait longer for surgery. Special Note: Ontario's computerized patient registry for cardiac surgery is carefully monitored and analyzed. Mortality rates (patient deaths) before and after surgery, while always of concern, are as low as or lower than published data from other countries. The patient registry is an important tool in maintaining and improving the high quality of care in the province