HIQA publishes new strategy to try reduce outpatient waiting lists
A new strategy has been revealed to try reduce the outpatient waiting list.
HIQA has published guidelines today to help the health service ensure interventions are clinically effective and good value.
It suggests we need to ensure the Health Budget is spent in the right way to ensure appropriate care is given to everyone.
Under the guidelines people will be now be able to see how the health service decides what treatments to make available.
The conduct of health technology assessment (HTA) in Ireland, which will ensure interventions are clinically effective, affordable and are good value for money.
Nearly 140,000 people were waiting for outpatient treatment at the end of last year and it is hoped the guidelines will help reduce this figure.
"Currently, we have a system characterised by rationing by delay, crudely manifested in the form of waiting lists," said Dr Máirín Ryan, HIQA’s deputy CEO and director of health technology assessment
"The guidelines can focus efforts to alleviate some of the current challenges facing the Irish healthcare system such as the outpatient waiting list crisis in acute hospitals where the numbers of patients waiting longer than 12 months increased from 84,000 at the end of 2016 to 138,000 at the end of 2017."
