Governments around the world are moving towards reporting on the results of public-sector activity. This is motivated by the need to know what value is gained for any money spent, rather than simply knowing how much is spent.

In its 2004 Ontario Budget : The Plan for Change, the Ontario government announced that it was developing a new made-in-Ontario approach – Budgeting for Results. This approach aims to make government more accountable by:

• clearly setting priorities and measurable outcome-based results;
• integrating those results into a planning and budgeting process that looks at all government spending, not just new or different spending; and
• consistently monitoring and regularly reporting on progress.

At that time, the government committed to being more transparent by reporting to the public on results. In that way, the government is making itself more accountable to the public.

To that end, in 2004, Premier McGuinty released the government's first report on results, Getting Results for Ontario. In 2005, a second report, Working Together for a Better Ontario, was released. A third report, Getting Results for Ontario Families, was released in September 2006.

In September 2005, the government established the Ontario Health Quality Council to monitor and report to Ontarians on access to publicly funded health services and related health human resources, consumer population health status and health system outcomes.

The Council has now released its first yearly report to Ontarians on their public health care system. The report looks at access, information management, innovation & research, and health services delivery integration, as well as evidence on the current state of the health system and population health.

In October 2005, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Health Results Team released its First Annual Report. The team's second annual report is now available.

Tracking Progress on Reducing Wait Times

As part of its commitment to greater transparency and accountability, the government created a public website in October 2005 so that people can track its progress on reducing wait times.

By visiting www.ontariowaittimes.com and clicking on the Wait Times link, Ontarians can now see how long patients are waiting for treatment in the five key services that are part of the government's Wait Time Strategy : cataract surgery, cancer surgery, hip and knee replacements, select cardiac procedures and MRI and CT scans. The data is the most current and accurate information available on wait times in Ontario.

For the first time in Ontario, people know what to expect when it comes to wait times in their community. They can compare wait times at hospitals in their community to others across Ontario. They can see whether a procedure is available sooner at another hospital, and in consultation with their primary care physician, they can be referred elsewhere for faster service.

The Wait Times Strategy is being led by Dr. Alan Hudson, a member of the government's Health Results Team.

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