Every year, thousands of patients in Norway wait for months, sometimes years, for treatments that could dramatically improve their quality of life. Take Ingrid, for example, a 45-year-old teacher from Oslo who has been struggling with worsening hip pain. She is on a waiting list for surgery, but with an estimated waiting time of 12 months, she faces months of uncertainty. Months that will affect her ability to work, care for her family, and live without pain. Unfortunately, Ingrid’s situation is not unique. Across the healthcare system, long waiting times have consequences that extend far beyond inconvenience.

At the core of this challenge lies a significant opportunity: better planning and smarter use of resources can drastically reduce waiting times and the hidden costs that come with them. Drawing on results from Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital (LDH), this article examines the economic, societal, and human consequences of waiting times. We also explore how innovative technologies like Deepinsight Hero are helping to rewrite the story for Norwegian healthcare.

The human cost of waiting

For patients like Ingrid, long waiting times come at a high price. As the months pass, her pain worsens, forcing her to take more sick leave and limit her daily activities. Research* shows that delayed treatment leads to increased psychological stress, anxiety, and deterioration of physical conditions.

At Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital (LDH), optimizing surgical scheduling reduced waiting lists in ENT and orthopedics by 23.5%, meaning fewer patients had to wait unnecessarily for critical procedures. Every reduction in waiting time means fewer patients like Ingrid are subjected to prolonged physical suffering or emotional stress. At LDH, each shortened waiting period contributes to faster recovery, less emotional strain, and an overall better experience of the Norwegian healthcare system.

The costs for healthcare professionals

Meanwhile, hospitals face their own challenges. At LDH, inefficient planning led to empty operating rooms despite long patient queues. For every day Ingrid waits, there are missed opportunities to optimize surgical schedules and treat more patients.

Before the implementation of Deepinsight Hero, LDH faced challenges common to many hospitals: unused operating rooms despite high demand, time-consuming manual planning processes, and unpredictable workflows. These inefficiencies not only wasted valuable resources but also created frustration among healthcare staff, who struggled to keep up with demand while operating under suboptimal conditions.

With the introduction of the Deepinsight Hero scheduling tool, LDH was able to unlock the hidden potential of its resources. Operating room utilization increased by 17%, creating capacity for 3–4 additional surgeries per operating room per month—without increasing the burden on existing staff.

Improved operations freed up time from routine tasks and gave employees better conditions for a manageable workday. Planning processes that previously took hours or days were completed in a fraction of the time, allowing staff to focus on what matters most: delivering high-quality patient care.

For healthcare professionals, waiting times are about morale, efficiency, and the ability to deliver on their mission. At LDH, strategic innovation has shown that better planning benefits both patients and those who care for them.

The societal costs of waiting times

Ingrid’s case also highlights the broader economic consequences. She cannot work due to worsening pain and must take extended sick leave, placing a burden on both her employer and the public welfare system. Multiply this by thousands of patients, and the societal costs grow exponentially.

Consider the loss of productivity when people are unable to work due to untreated health conditions. A patient waiting for a joint replacement may be unable to perform their job for months, creating an economic burden for both the individual and the employer. For caregivers, the responsibility of supporting a loved one while they wait for treatment can lead to absenteeism, burnout, and even lost income.

At a macroeconomic level, these individual challenges add up. Longer waiting times mean greater reliance on social welfare programs, higher costs for long-term care, and reduced participation in the workforce. The economic burden on society increases exponentially when patients who could have been treated earlier instead require more intensive and costly care as their conditions worsen.

Hospitals like LDH demonstrate how reducing waiting times can lower these societal costs. By increasing operating room capacity and reducing waiting lists, LDH enables patients to return to work sooner, easing the financial burden on families and contributing to a more productive economy. With tools like Deepinsight Hero, healthcare systems can improve outcomes for individual patients while also strengthening society as a whole.

The economic case for reducing waiting times

For hospitals, every delayed procedure represents a financial loss. At LDH, the financial gain from improved planning was estimated at approximately NOK 2.3 million in additional annual revenue per operating room. This demonstrates that investing in efficiency pays off.

For patients like Ingrid, shorter waiting times mean financial stability, reducing the risk of long-term disability and dependence on social assistance. Had Ingrid undergone surgery several months earlier, she could have returned to work sooner and avoided the financial strain associated with prolonged sick leave.

Multiply this scenario across thousands of patients nationwide, and the economic implications become clear: delayed treatment leads to reduced workforce participation, increased reliance on public welfare, and higher overall healthcare costs.

The numbers speak for themselves: waiting times are costly—for hospitals, for individuals, and for society as a whole.

Long waiting times impact hospital’s reputation

In the healthcare sector, a hospital’s reputation is crucial. Long waiting times can undermine this reputation and lead to patient dissatisfaction, challenges in recruiting staff, and weakened political and societal support.

Take Ingrid, a patient who experienced significant delays in her treatment. The long waiting time led to frustration and a loss of trust in the hospital responsible for her care. For some patients, such negative experiences can even affect trust in the healthcare system as a whole. Several studies have shown that long waiting times are associated with lower patient satisfaction, negative assessments of the quality of healthcare services, and a reduced willingness to return to or recommend the institution. In other words, long waiting times weaken the reputation of healthcare providers.

On the other hand, hospitals that succeed in reducing waiting times can significantly strengthen trust in their services. For patients like Ingrid, shorter waiting times can be decisive for their perception of quality, safety, and respect. Regardless of where in the healthcare system the treatment takes place.

Improved patient flow and more predictable care pathways also contribute to a more supportive working environment for staff, which can boost morale and make it easier to recruit and retain skilled healthcare professionals. At the system level, hospitals that manage waiting times effectively are often highlighted as examples of good resource utilization and efficient organization of healthcare services, and can therefore attract positive attention and support from decision-makers.

The consequences of eroded trust in healthcare

When individual patients repeatedly experience delays, inconsistencies, or a lack of transparency in care, the consequences can extend far beyond the walls of a single hospital. Over time, this contributes to a weakening of trust in the healthcare system as a whole.

Public trust is fundamental to a well-functioning healthcare system—it influences how people seek care, follow medical advice, and support funding or reform initiatives. When trust erodes, delivering effective healthcare becomes more difficult, even when strong systems and good intentions are in place.

This underscores why reducing waiting times is not merely about hospital performance—it is essential to maintaining society’s trust in the public healthcare system.

How technology can help solve the problem

At Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital (LDH), AI-driven technology proved to be a game changer. By implementing Deepinsight Hero, LDH optimized surgical schedules, resulting in a 17% increase in operating room utilization and freeing up 2,400 additional work hours annually. The solution also received a usability score of 82 out of 100 at LDH—an exceptionally high rating in the healthcare sector. These gains translated directly into better patient access, fewer canceled procedures, and a measurable reduction in waiting lists.

For hospital staff, automation meant less time spent on administrative tasks and more time focused on patient care. For patients like Ingrid, it meant faster access to treatment. This allowed her to return to work sooner and avoid the physical and emotional strain of prolonged waiting.

Let’s cut the waiting times

The hidden costs of waiting times are too great to ignore. For hospitals, they mean lost opportunities, overburdened staff, and inefficient use of valuable resources. For patients like Ingrid, they mean pain, uncertainty, and a growing loss of trust in the care they depend on.

Ingrid waited 12 months for surgery. Each passing week brought more frustration, more discomfort, and more moments she could never get back.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

At Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, smarter planning has reduced waiting lists by 23.5%, increased operating room utilization by 17%, and freed up thousands of work hours—all without expanding staff or facilities. The tools already exist. The results are already happening.

Now it is up to healthcare leaders, decision-makers, and innovators to act.

Let’s ensure patients receive faster treatment and don’t wait longer than necessary.

Let's unlock the full potential of our hospitals.

Let's cut the waiting times.