[swatcoder]

Sure there are. Population measures of morbidity, days of lost work, patient satisfaction, etc are all captured and studied.

Do you have indications that those are worse where wait times happen to be higher, or so you just take it for granted that longer waits must mean worse net experience?

[twoodfin]

Sorry, which measure most directly captures patient inconvenience & suffering due to wait times?

[beej71]

It would be an enlightening experiment. "Wait 2 hours or pay $5000 to be seen now."

[twoodfin]

Many universal public systems (not all, see: Canada) effectively allow this through private plans and private providers that supplement the government benefits, often notably for speedier diagnostics and treatment.