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Table 1 Wait time items in patient experience surveys, by country

From: The psychology of the wait time experience – what clinics can do to manage the waiting experience for patients: a longitudinal, qualitative study

Country

Question

United Statesa

In the last 12 months, how often did you see this provider within 15 min of your appointment time?

[Never / Sometimes / Usually / Always]

United Kingdomb

How long after your appointment time do you normally wait to be seen?

[I don’t normally have appointments at a particular time / Less than 5 min / 5 to 15 min / More than 15 min / Can’t remember]

How do you feel about how long you normally have to wait to be seen?

[I don’t normally have to wait too long / I have to wait a bit too long / I have to wait far too long / No opinion or doesn’t apply]

Canadac

How long did you wait for your consultation to start?

[Less than 5 min / 5 to 10 min / 11 to 20 min / 21 to 30 min / More than 30 min / There was no set time for my consultation]

What type of difficulties did you experience?

[Difficulty contacting a physician / A specialist was unavailable / Difficulty getting an appointment/ Do not have a personal or family physician / Waited too long to get an appointment / Waited too long in the waiting room / Service not available at the time required / Service not available in the area / Transportation problems / Cost issues / Language problems / Did not feel comfortable with the available doctor or nurse / Did not know where to go / Unable to leave the house because of a health problem / Other]

  1. aAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality [http://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/surveys-guidance/cg/instructions/index.html]
  2. bNational Health Service [https://gp-patient.co.uk/Files/Questionnaire2018.pdf]
  3. cCanadian Institute for Health Information [https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/info_phc_patient_en.pdf]