John Mawson

MB, ChB

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Head, Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

For the majority of the Canadian public, the health-care system and health-care issues represent the number one priorities for governments across the country. Within our publicly funded health-care system fair access to medical services is a primary concern. Wait times vary substantially from doctor to doctor and hospital to hospital, and the length of time that patients wait for services is not always determined by the severity of their illness. Wait time is determined by a number of factors including the capacity of the health-care system, the number of patients on wait lists, and the number of urgent/emergent cases arising while elective cases are waiting. Important criteria for prioritizing wait lists for consultation or referral services, medical imaging procedures, and surgery include severity, urgency, need, and expected benefit. My research is focused on quality improvement/quality assurance issues related to providing pediatric medical imaging services to the children of British Columbia and the Yukon.