By rdnewsNOW Staff

One-Time Commitment

Province announces $33 million investment to improve access to MRIs and CT scans

Mar 26, 2021 | 11:09 AM

The Alberta government has announced a $33 million investment aimed at driving down wait times for Albertans needing non-emergency CT scans and MRIs in public hospitals.

The one-time commitment from Budget 2021 is expected to support AHS in performing up to 50,000 additional CT (computerized tomography) scans and up to 45,000 additional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans throughout the province in 2021-22.

Officials say this work is part of an aggressive action plan developed by Alberta’s government and AHS to reduce wait times to ensure that by 2023, all Albertans have their CT scans and MRIs done within appropriate wait times recommended by medical experts.

“Albertans need better results from our health-care system, including from MRIs and CT scans that can diagnose their health condition and set them on the path to recovery,” said Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta. “This commitment is part of Alberta’s historic investment in health care. We will ensure that all health dollars are spent wisely to support patients and families.”

“Physicians have raised the alarm that long waits put patients at risk – and we couldn’t agree more,” added Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro. “Reducing wait times for these medically necessary diagnostic tests is not negotiable. This is why I directed AHS to implement this action plan and to work in partnership with radiologists to find innovative solutions to provide the best patient care with the significant dollars dedicated to this work.”

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Government officials say the additional $33 million will augment the $1 billion Alberta spends each year on diagnostic imaging. This total spend includes ultrasounds, X-rays and mammography, as well as MRIs and CT scans for Albertans.

“AHS understands how important it is for patients to receive timely access to diagnostic testing and quick turnaround of results,” noted Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO, Alberta Health Services. “We are listening to all concerns and are proactively working to improve this very important service for Albertans.”

Officials say Alberta Health and AHS developed the CT and MRI Action Plan to address increasingly long wait times, which peaked in 2019-20, and to decrease costs, better manage demand to reduce unnecessary tests, and to make sure the people who most need the tests for treatment decisions will get the scans sooner.

The implementation plan uses data to more accurately estimate where demand pressures may occur so that resources can be deployed to respond efficiently.

AHS is expected to reinvest any cost savings achieved through the plan to where they are most needed.

Quick facts

• Demand for CT scans in Alberta is increasing by five per cent annually, and for MRIs by 3.5 per cent annually.
• If a patient is in an emergency department and needs an urgent scan, they are able to get one quickly. If a patient is in hospital, they are able to get a scan within 24 hours.
• While wait times for patients in hospital or emergency departments are stable and within time frames recommended by medical experts, wait times for outpatients referred for a CT or MRI scan are longer than recommended.

As of December 2020:

• 44,341 Albertans were waiting for a CT scan, down from 60,181 Albertans waiting in March 2020.
• 59,614 Albertans were waiting for an MRI, down from 66,183 Albertans waiting in March 2020.