Erie St. Clair and South West: Cataract Central Intake One Year Post Go-Live

The St. Joseph’s Health Care London Cataract Central Intake (CCI) went live in April 2024. The CCI serves the Ontario Health West sub-regions of Erie St. Clair and South West for non-urgent cataract surgery consultations.

The CCI was developed to improve the equitable distribution of referrals and positively impact patient wait times for cataract surgeries while also respecting patient referral routing preferences.

Key takeaways

The 90th percentile wait time* has decreased from 385 days in the first quarter post-go-live to 371 days, a total reduction of 14 days from baseline​.

The average wait 1 time* is 167 days, reflecting a net decrease of 13 days from peak.​

*The 90th percentile wait time is the time in which 90% of patients are seen​
*Wait 1 time is the time a patient waits from referral to their initial consultation with a clinician

Patient Preference

The CI model allows patients to choose how they would like their referral routed. Data from April 2024 – March 2025 shows:

• 54.8% (n= 2,598) prefer the first available surgeon
• 31.9% (n=1,515) prefer a specific surgeon
• 13.3% (n= 632) prefer the surgeon closest to their home

Referrals sent to the first available surgeon experienced the shortest average Wait 1 (149 days).

Consistency

Referrals are processed the same day, regardless of the method of transmission.

The Stats

84.6% (n=4012) of referrals were sent to the CI through fax, while 15.4% (n= 733) of referrals were received at the CCI as electronic referrals.

Efficiency

100% of eReferrals were received complete, and 94% of fax referrals were received complete.