You’ll see these charts in both Outpatient and Surgery components:
How to read the chart
A Box and Whisker chart summarises data into quartiles, highlighting where most patients sit compared to the extremes.
| Part of the chart | Screenshot | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Box (the main part) |  |
Covers the middle 50% of patients (from the 25th to 75th percentile). This shows where most wait times fall. |
| Line inside the box |  |
The median (50th percentile) – the “typical” wait time, with half of patients waiting less and half waiting more. |
| Whiskers (the lines sticking out) |  |
Stretch to the 5th percentile (bottom) and 95th percentile (top), showing the range where 90% of patients’ wait times fall. |
| Grey cross |  |
The minimum wait time – the shortest time a patient has waited or is waiting. |
| Red cross |  |
The maximum wait time – the longest time a patient has waited or is waiting. |
| Hover text |  |
Displays the full breakdown: 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 95th percentiles, plus the minimum and maximum wait times, and the total number of patients waiting/seen. |
Why it matters
-
Spot variation: See if most patients experience consistent wait times or if they vary widely.
-
Identify extremes: The crosses highlight the very shortest and longest waits.
-
Compare services: Quickly compare different clinics, specialties, or surgeons.
Example
Imagine you’re looking at a specialty’s wait times in SystemView:
-
The median line is at 40 days → half of patients waited less than 40 days, and half waited longer.
-
The box spans from 30 to 60 days → the middle 50% of patients waited between 30 and 60 days.
-
The whiskers extend from the 5th percentile (20 days) to the 95th percentile (90 days) → 90% of patients are within this range.
-
The grey cross shows the minimum wait time (e.g., 10 days).
-
The red cross shows the maximum wait time (e.g., 150 days).
Interpretation: Most patients waited between 30–60 days, with almost all falling between 20–90 days. The grey and red crosses show the rare cases at the very shortest and longest ends.