In 2023, 14.0% of adults reported skipping needed care because of costs. That friction can prevent people from reaching the waitlist at all. In England, 3.0 million people were waiting for elective surgery in October 2023, and delays can compound as scheduling, staffing, and cyber disruptions strain capacity.
Key Takeaways
- 14.0% of adults reported not getting needed care due to costs in 2023, meaning a portion of demand never enters the care pipeline (effectively affecting waiting lists).
- 35% of patients in a 2021 Canadian survey reported waiting longer than expected for specialist appointments, indicating expectation gaps can worsen perceived delays.
- 3.0 million people were waiting for elective surgery in England in October 2023, meaning the backlog scale exceeded 2023 single-digit millions.
- 1.8x higher odds of appointment delay were found for rural residents vs urban residents in a 2020 peer-reviewed U.S. study, contributing to uneven waiting list experiences.
- In England, the number of consultant-led referrals was 6.8 million in 2023/24, contributing to inflows into elective waiting lists.
- 6.2x growth in ransomware-related cyber incidents targeting healthcare organizations from 2019 to 2023 was reported by IBM, meaning operational disruptions can worsen patient flow and waiting.
- 27% of patients reported they had to repeat information when scheduling care in 2020 (survey), meaning administrative friction increases appointment lead times.
- Wait-time reductions of 20–40% were reported for lean/flow redesign in outpatient clinics across multiple trials (systematic review, 2021), meaning process changes can shorten queues.
- 4.4% of clinic-level patient encounters in a 2022 EHR-based study experienced delayed scheduling beyond 14 days, meaning queueing was measurable in routine workflows.
- 9.4% reduction in no-show rates after implementing automated reminders was reported in a 2020 systematic review/meta-analysis, improving throughput and reducing waits.
- Automatic SMS reminders increased appointment adherence by 4.9 percentage points in a 2019 systematic review, reducing queue bottlenecks.
- $8.2 billion estimated annual economic burden in the U.S. attributable to delayed care (system-level estimate, 2021), meaning waiting has measurable cost consequences.
- U.S. healthcare IT spending was $198.0 billion in 2023, indicating budgets for systems that manage scheduling and queueing.
- The global healthcare analytics market was valued at $40.3 billion in 2023, indicating spending capacity for analytics that can optimize waitlists.
- The global patient scheduling and appointment management software market was forecast to grow from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $9.6 billion by 2030, indicating demand for queue management systems.
Costs and operational shocks are shrinking access, making elective and specialist waiting persist despite better scheduling tools.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption2 stats
01
14.0% of adults reported not getting needed care due to costs in 2023, meaning a portion of demand never enters the care pipeline (effectively affecting waiting lists).
02
35% of patients in a 2021 Canadian survey reported waiting longer than expected for specialist appointments, indicating expectation gaps can worsen perceived delays.
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User Adoption is being held back by two clear frictions, with 14.0% of adults in 2023 not getting needed care due to costs while 35% of patients in a 2021 Canadian survey said they waited longer than expected for specialist appointments.
02 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
3.0 million people were waiting for elective surgery in England in October 2023, meaning the backlog scale exceeded 2023 single-digit millions.
02
1.8x higher odds of appointment delay were found for rural residents vs urban residents in a 2020 peer-reviewed U.S. study, contributing to uneven waiting list experiences.
03
In England, the number of consultant-led referrals was 6.8 million in 2023/24, contributing to inflows into elective waiting lists.
04
The OECD reported that approximately 22% of patients in high-income countries reported unmet medical needs due to waiting (2019–2021 cross-country estimates), reflecting systemic queue pressures.
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
From the Industry Trends angle, England’s elective surgery waitlist has grown to 3.0 million people in October 2023 while OECD data shows about 22% of patients in high-income countries report unmet medical needs due to waiting, pointing to a persistent and cross-system pressure on healthcare demand and capacity.
03 · Category
Operational Impact5 stats
01
6.2x growth in ransomware-related cyber incidents targeting healthcare organizations from 2019 to 2023 was reported by IBM, meaning operational disruptions can worsen patient flow and waiting.
02
27% of patients reported they had to repeat information when scheduling care in 2020 (survey), meaning administrative friction increases appointment lead times.
03
Wait-time reductions of 20–40% were reported for lean/flow redesign in outpatient clinics across multiple trials (systematic review, 2021), meaning process changes can shorten queues.
04
In a 2021 study of U.S. ED boarding, median boarding time was 4.6 hours, which can delay inpatient admissions and downstream elective scheduling.
05
A 2020 systematic review found that wait-time information reduces anxiety and improves patient satisfaction scores, with effect sizes varying by context.
Interpretation
Operational Impact Interpretation
Operationally, the data show that wait-related challenges ripple far beyond patients, with a 20 to 40 percent reduction in outpatient wait times from lean flow redesign contrasting sharply against slower systems like U.S. ED boarding with a median 4.6 hour delay and rising ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations that grew 6.2 times from 2019 to 2023.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
4.4% of clinic-level patient encounters in a 2022 EHR-based study experienced delayed scheduling beyond 14 days, meaning queueing was measurable in routine workflows.
02
9.4% reduction in no-show rates after implementing automated reminders was reported in a 2020 systematic review/meta-analysis, improving throughput and reducing waits.
03
Automatic SMS reminders increased appointment adherence by 4.9 percentage points in a 2019 systematic review, reducing queue bottlenecks.
04
37.5% of organ transplant candidates who were active received a transplant within 12 months in the OPTN/HRSA national data (2023 analysis), meaning the match between queue size and capacity influences waiting outcomes.
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across these performance metrics studies, relatively small scheduling improvements are measurable, with delayed scheduling beyond 14 days affecting 4.4% of encounters and reminder-based interventions reducing no shows by 9.4% and boosting adherence by 4.9 percentage points, while faster access remains uneven as only 37.5% of active organ transplant candidates received a transplant within 12 months.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis2 stats
01
$8.2 billion estimated annual economic burden in the U.S. attributable to delayed care (system-level estimate, 2021), meaning waiting has measurable cost consequences.
02
U.S. healthcare IT spending was $198.0 billion in 2023, indicating budgets for systems that manage scheduling and queueing.
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Cost analysis shows that delayed care in the U.S. carries an estimated $8.2 billion in annual economic burden while healthcare IT spending reached $198.0 billion in 2023, underscoring how much financial pressure exists to better manage scheduling and queueing.
06 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
The global healthcare analytics market was valued at $40.3 billion in 2023, indicating spending capacity for analytics that can optimize waitlists.
02
The global patient scheduling and appointment management software market was forecast to grow from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $9.6 billion by 2030, indicating demand for queue management systems.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From a market size perspective, the healthcare analytics space was $40.3 billion in 2023 and is complemented by rapidly expanding appointment management software projected to nearly double from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $9.6 billion by 2028, signaling strong and growing spending potential for solutions tied to waitlist optimization.
More related reading
07 · Category
Clinical Bottlenecks1 stats
01
1.8 million hospital admissions in the U.S. involved at least one instance of hospital-acquired infection, with risk varying by hospital factors (2004–2010, estimates from the AHRQ U.S. burden of HAIs via NSQIP/other linked datasets).
Interpretation
Clinical Bottlenecks Interpretation
Clinical bottlenecks in the US are highlighted by the fact that 1.8 million hospital admissions involved at least one instance of hospital-acquired infection, underscoring how inconsistent care processes across hospitals can drive variable risk and strain patient flow.
08 · Category
Capacity Constraints2 stats
01
In 2022, 34.2% of U.K. hospitals reported a shortage of nurses, with vacancies affecting ward capacity (NHS England workforce vacancy reporting as summarized by Health Service Journal).
02
In 2023, 18,000+ physicians left the U.S. workforce (retirements/attrition combined) according to AAMC workforce statistics (AAMC “State of the Physician Workforce”).
Interpretation
Capacity Constraints Interpretation
Under capacity constraints, the staffing shortfall is showing up sharply on both sides of the Atlantic, with 34.2% of UK hospitals reporting nurse shortages in 2022 that reduced ward capacity and the US seeing 18,000-plus physicians exit the workforce in 2023.
09 · Category
Market Adoption2 stats
01
The global inpatient EHR market was valued at $4.5 billion in 2023 and was forecast to reach $10.2 billion by 2030 (vendor research report).
02
The global healthcare appointment scheduling software market was valued at $3.9 billion in 2023 and forecast to exceed $9.0 billion by 2030 (market forecast report).
Interpretation
Market Adoption Interpretation
For Market Adoption, the inpatient EHR market is expanding from $4.5 billion in 2023 to a projected $10.2 billion by 2030, and appointment scheduling software is set to grow from $3.9 billion to over $9.0 billion over the same period, signaling rapidly accelerating digital adoption across healthcare workflows.
10 · Category
Waiting Time Measurement1 stats
01
45% of patients in England reported they waited longer than they expected for an outpatient appointment (2023 patient experience survey figure).
Interpretation
Waiting Time Measurement Interpretation
In the Waiting Time Measurement category, 45% of patients in England said they waited longer than they expected for an outpatient appointment in 2023, indicating that actual wait times often fall short of what patients anticipate.
11 · Category
Economic And Operational Impacts3 stats
01
The U.S. average hourly wage for healthcare practitioners increased by 4.6% in 2023 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for healthcare occupations, 2023 YoY).
02
In 2023, the average cost of a hospital readmission in the U.S. was about $16,000per event (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality analysis summarized by Health Affairs).
03
In 2024, ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations were reported as the most targeted sector by number of reported incidents among critical infrastructure (FBI/CISA advisories compilation counts).
Interpretation
Economic And Operational Impacts Interpretation
In the Economic and Operational Impacts category, rising healthcare labor costs and the high price of readmissions are being compounded by cybersecurity pressure, with U.S. healthcare practitioners’ hourly wages up 4.6% in 2023, hospital readmissions averaging about $16,000 per event, and healthcare organizations reported as the most targeted sector for ransomware incidents in 2024.
report visual · Comparison
How big is the waitlist problem?
Backlogs and demand gaps show both scale (patients waiting) and pressure points (people who never reach care, plus longer-than-expected waits).
45% of patients in England reported they waited longer than they expected for an outpatient appointment (2023 patient ex45%
35% of patients in a 2021 Canadian survey reported waiting longer than expected for specialist appointments, indicating
35%
14.0% of adults reported not getting needed care due to costs in 2023, meaning a portion of demand never enters the care
14%
3.0 million people were waiting for elective surgery in England in October 2023, meaning the backlog scale exceeded 2023
3.0
source-verifieddigital.nhs.uk · cdc.gov · england.nhs.uk · www150.statcan.gc.ca2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
David Sutherland. (2026, February 13). Waitlist Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/waitlist-statistics
MLA
David Sutherland. "Waitlist Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/waitlist-statistics.
Chicago
David Sutherland. 2026. "Waitlist Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/waitlist-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)