WCWL - Cataract Surgery

The WCWL priority scoring tool for cataract surgery was developed by a multidisciplinary clinical panel composed of seven academic and community ophthalmologists, two family physicians, an optometrist, a health care services researcher, and a health information specialist. The panel met three times between October 1999 and June 2000. The priority criteria were applied to 563 patients in the four western provinces. Regression analysis was used to determine the set of criteria weights that collectively best predicted clinicians’ overall ratings of urgency. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability were assessed, based on clinicians’ ratings of videotaped interviews with six hypothetical patients.