Surgery and Endoscopy Prioritization Levels

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Introduction to NSCATS and NSCATs-E

Nova Scotia Coded Access Targets (NSCATS) and Nova Scotia Coded Access Targets for Endoscopy (NSCATs-E) are a provincially agreed upon set of wait times, with clinical modifiers, for all surgical sub-specialties (85 to 90% of adult procedures) and endoscopies in Nova Scotia.

NOTE: Emergency procedures shall not be assigned an NSCATS Code and should be booked directly to the Operation/Procedure Room emergency wait list using the Emergency Priority Codes (STAT-G), where appropriate.

Why this matters:

Ensures patients are prioritized appropriately based on clinical acuity
Supports fair and consistent booking practices across sites and zones
Improves data quality and decision-making for surgical access and capacity
Helps ensure patients receive care within clinically appropriate timeframes

In Nova Scotia, procedures added to scheduled procedure waitlists must include a priority level, excluding cases such as transplants and c-sections.

In Nova Scotia, surgical and endoscopy priority levels should be assigned based on one of the following:

Nova Scotia Coding Access Targets for Surgery (NSCATS) - the 10 to 15% procedures without NSCATS codes shall still be assigned PARNS priority levels I to VI
Nova Scotia Coding Access Targets for Endoscopy (NSCATs-E) - where applicable
Paediatric Canadian Access Targets for Surgery (PCATS) - for IWK Health pediatric cases only

A physician may, at any time, update the prioritization level assigned to a patient based on a change in clinical condition. This is strongly encouraged to maintain an accurate priority-based wait list.

A list of acronyms and their definitions for surgery and prioritization levels

Nova Scotia Coding Access Targets for Surgery (NSCATS)

NSCATS identify the maximum acceptable surgical wait times for 85 to 90% of adult procedures to help prioritize care and support appropriate and timely bookings.

Nova Scotia Health has worked to develop and implement these standardized prioritization codes, based on clinical modifiers, for high-volume procedures in all surgical sub-specialties.

NSCATS wait times are all associated to our current Patient Access Registry Nova Scotia (PARNS) Surgeon Assigned Priority Levels (SAPL):

IIA – 1 week
IIB– 3 weeks
III – 6 weeks
IV – 13 weeks
V – 26 weeks
VI – 52 weeks.

NSCATS Updates and Resources

NSCATS Frequently Asked Questions - updated March 2026
Similar to the Paediatric Canadian Access Targets for Surgery (PCATS) used by IWK Health and Alberta's Coding Access Targets for Surgery (ACATS).
For Eastern, Western and Northern Zones - Reference your sub-specialty NSCATS booking code below, which will be entered by your site-based booking office into the MEDITECH ORM at the time of waitlisting.
For Central Zone - Go Live is May 9, 2026. These codes are built into the new NOVARI ATC and will launch with NOVARI/OPOR-CIS implementation.

NSCATS Booking Codes

13 Surgical Specialty Codes Approved for Provincial Prioritization:

Nova Scotia Coding Access Targets for Endoscopy (NSCATs-E)

NSCATs-E stands for Nova Scotia Coded Access Targets for Endoscopy. It’s a new, standardized set of booking codes for various elective/non-urgent scheduled endoscopy procedures. NSCATs-E was built collaboratively with endoscopists across the province representing all specialties and referenced similar approaches from other health systems in Canada. It was endorsed by the Endoscopy Service Operations Council (ESOC) which includes administration and endoscopists from all zones across Nova Scotia Health.