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Why does it take so long to see a specialist? What makes a great referral system?
Professional dancer (and Braden’s niece) Kate Manns describes developing severe, unpredictable migraines after a kidney transplant, then waiting two years to see a neurologist.
Braden Manns and family physician/health system leader Dr. Rick Ward discuss why Canadian specialist referrals are slow and opaque, relying on fax, non-communicating records, and informal networks to choose specialists, with long waits pushing patients to emergency care.
They outline solutions: centralized access/triage hubs that track wait lists and route patients to the right specialist and shortest queue, and rapid…
The skinny
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