The Patient Access Registry Tool (PART) is an essential element of a larger overall strategy, says provincial director of access Dr. Luis Oppenheimer. "It's aimed at providing specialists with information they need to manage their patient demand and information referring physicians require to appropriately direct that demand," he told the December issue of the Manitoba Medical Association newsletter Rounds.

Once it's fully implemented, PART will capture information on all patients needing a medical consultation or surgery within the province. PART will help family physicians direct patients to the most timely consultations and surgeries. In time, it could also provide real-time prospective data analysis for both clinicians and administrators.

Dr. Oppenheimer understands that providing the information PART requires represents a culture change of sorts for specialists. PART requires each specialist/surgeon participant to complete a page-long form on every patient, for instance. The form is described as straightforward because much of the information it requires is already generally available. That data, on paper during the initial phase, will soon be made electronically compatible through a web-based entry form.

Reaction to PART has been largely positive so far."A common complaint regarding current wait time reduction projects is that the focus has been on five key areas possibly at the expense of other equally important services," the Rounds article notes.

PART promises to become a valuable resource to Manitoba's 11 regional health authorities, its hospitals and other system administrators. It will provide information on wait times for most medical specialty and surgical services, though it won't include radiology and clinical areas such as emergency and critical care, where referrals are not accepted. Up to now, only anecdotal evidence has helped with wait time-related decision-making.

PART stands to provide the "credible evidence" needed to zero in on sources of wait time problems and identify bottlenecks, noted pediatric general surgeon Dr. B.J. Hancock, who supports the concept.

"PART will be able to assist us in demonstrating the real needs to target for improvement," she's quoted as saying."For the project to be successful, we must be prepared to commit some time and resources to ensure accurate and valid data," added liver and pancreatic surgeon Dr. Jeremy Lipschitz.

The form requires patient demographics and provider information as well as a diagnosis and planned interventions. It also documents several key wait time dates, including when a referral was first received, the date of the first specialist consultation and when a patient is ready for treatment.