The study explored the actionability of public waiting time reporting in Finnish public primary oral healthcare. We defined an actionable public waiting time reporting system as a system that collects, processes, and delivers relevant and accurate information about waiting times to stakeholders for utilization in action-related decision-making to realize intended actions.

The functional paradigm guided this quantitative cross-sectional study. Data was collected through a literature review focused on the use of waiting time information in healthcare, as well as electronic surveys targeted at public oral healthcare managers, citizens, and dental nurses involved in telephone triage. We used descriptive statistics and regression analysis to evaluate the survey data. The findings were utilized to explore the actionability of two public waiting time reporting systems from various stakeholders’ perspectives. Our conceptual framework for exploring actionability was based on the Shannon-Weaver communication model alongside Mason's levels of information output in communication systems.

The actionability of the systems varied significantly by stakeholder group, but unfortunately, the systems did not adequately achieve their goal of public reporting. The results of this study were consistent with previous evaluations of public reporting. While public reporting has somewhat contributed to improving care quality within healthcare organizations, it has had a limited impact on patients’ ability to choose healthcare providers. The actionability of public reporting has been hindered because the information provided has not met users’ needs, and the healthcare system has not promoted patient choice. Public reporting, both in Finland and in other countries, has often been implemented mainly to ensure public accountability, offering transparency regarding public services but frequently providing poor-quality information without the means to enhance care quality.

Further studies are needed to describe and evaluate public reporting across the entire Finnish public healthcare system. The established conceptual framework should be assessed and refined for analyzing public reporting in contexts that include information beyond just waiting times.