Waiting for treatment and surgery appears to have cost Canadians $1.2 billion last year.

A study released today by the Fraser Institute calculates the average personal cost of time lost during the work week in Canada last year for each of the 894,449 patients waiting for treatments at $1304.

The study draws upon data from an annual survey of Canadian physicians, who last year, reported an average median wait time from specialist appointment to treatment of just under 10 weeks.

As wait times and incomes vary by province, so does the cost of waiting for healthcare. Ontario falls right in the middle at $940 in terms of value of time lost.

Study co-author and Fraser Institute Senior Economist Bacchus Barua will have more to say about the research on Zoomer Radio’s Fight Back with Libby Znaimer after the noon news.