Quality and Outcomes Reports - Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
Time to next appointment
Why we measure it - The time to next appointment actually is the time to the third next available appointment for new patients, which is a more accurate measure of how long a patient needs to wait before seeing a specialist of his or her choice for the first time. One of our service standards is the ability to make appointments within a reasonable length of time. Urgent and emergent patients are seen immediately.
What this means - Our time to next appointment for Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery has decreased over the last three quarters. Wait times tend to increase in the summer when children are more active and at an increased risk for injury. Summer also is a common time to have elective procedures.
About the data - These data reflect a measure that is an industry standard. These data show the number of days to schedule a new, non-urgent appointment.
Related dimensions of care:
What we're doing to provide the best care:
- To improve patient flow and case management in the Surgery Clinic, we created specialty clinics including a Burn Clinic.
- We offer outreach clinics to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our Milwaukee hospital location. Our specialists travel to Neenah, Green Bay, and New Berlin Wis., to provide care closer to where our patients live.
- We train future pediatric surgeons in our fellowship program.
Patients and families:
- If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling at (877) 607-5280 or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule. This allows us to see another child who may require our care.
- Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
Referring physicians:
- Fill out and fax a referral form prior to sending the patient to Children's Hospital for outpatient ancillary services or a specialty clinic visit.
- Forward any pertinent patient documentation, including test results, to the specialty physician's office prior to the patient's visit.
- Referring physicians can access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day. Call our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.
- Health care providers from outside of our southeastern Wisconsin service area are encouraged to use our web-based
e-Consult service. This service is available for non-urgent patient cases only and gives providers access to our specialists to review patient cases, obtain medical advice or second opinions, and receive care recommendations for rare symptoms and illnesses.
e-Consult is not to be used by the general public, parents/guardians or families. - Care guidelines for medical professionals
- Educational materials
- Pocket Directory
If you have questions about this data or information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.