Objective

The waiting list for surgery is defined as the list of patients waiting to receive a specific treatment at the right time. Its management depends on the strategies that are carried out to reduce it. The results of a network of health services are presented as an alternative for reducing the waiting list for surgery.

Method

In order to reduce the waiting list for surgery in a third-level hospital, a surgical program was carried out between two hospitals of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, Costa Rica, in the period 2017-2018, after management of the instances got involved. The program consisted of managing surgical days every two months, in a second-level hospital, to perform surgeries after prioritizing patients according to pathology, and complying with the requirements of the institutional internal control.

Results

Eight surgical days were carried out during the period 2017-2018. 44 patients underwent surgery under this program and 9 patients had surgery suspended, mainly due to upper airway infection. The waiting list for surgery was reduced by 13.25% from the initial total (332 patients); the percentage of cancellation of surgery was 2.71%.

Conclusions

Managing the waiting list is important since it allows visualization of the current situation in terms of waiting times and surgery priorities. The management carried out must contemplate the best solutions to solve a pathology when the patient requires it, and using the existing structure.