Posted on 09/04/2009 11:29:16 AM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
MRI scans that are used to detect tumours, fractures and other ailments will be cut by 20 per cent this year, the Vancouver Island Health Authority has confirmed.
The health authority plans to do 4,400 fewer of the magnetic resonance imaging scans to help cover a $45-million budget shortfall, figures released yesterday show.
The cuts likely mean patients will wait in pain even longer for treatment and surgery -- and already they are waiting twice as long as last year.
VIHA spokeswoman Shannon Marshall said patients are being booked for March, six months away, for elective MRI scans. Last year, wait times for MRI scans were only three months.
Marshall said emergency scans will be performed immediately.
Howard Waldner, VIHA's chief executive officer, had previously said that the authority would return to 2008-2009 budgeted levels for MRIs as a cost-saving measure as it wrestles with a projected deficit of about $45 million on its total $1.7-billion budget.
Last year, medical imaging in VIHA went 9.2 per cent over budget, to $21.2 million instead of the planned $19.4 million. The figures released yesterday showed 18,100 MRI scans were budgeted for last year, but 22,567 were performed.
If the health authority returns to budgeted levels, that's a drop of more than 4,400 MRIs.
Critics say the move to reduce the number of scans contradicts the Liberal government's election promises. "In spite of the fact that the government campaigned on more MRIs, they weren't telling the truth. They're having to cut MRIs and having to cut MRIs by 20 per cent," said NDP health care critic Adrian Dix.
"It really is an indication of their plans for health care here on Vancouver Island."
Health Minister Kevin Falcon conceded wait times for non-emergency procedures will be going up as health authorities scale back to meet their budgets.
"In the short term, will those wait times be impacted? Yes, they will. We should be honest about that," said Falcon. "But that's how they're going to, in part, meet their budget."
But Falcon also continued to insist health authorities will save more of their money by cutting administrative costs. "It won't be easy, but it's the right thing for them to do given the times we're in."
He also noted that wait times for elective surgeries -- for things such as hips, knees and hearts -- have already been reduced by about 50 per cent.
Note the wait times for a scan: they were "only" three months; now, they'll be at least six months.
I pledge to take up arms before I let my country be destroyed like this.
There’s money to be made in MRIs in Seattle.
But it's "free". (for freeloaders anyways)
But why does an island need an MRI - did it get a big booboo?
<But why does an island need an MRI - did it get a big booboo?
LOL. Everyone’s a comedian...
Government healthcare: Don’t call us, we’ll let you know. Some time.
They are cutting staffing and maintenance to the scanners they have. Meanwhile, these very expensive, complex units will be sitting unused, depreciating as they sit, while payments on them continue.
What a great business model!
And once they have a few sitting around warm and empty, what are the chances they’ll bring it back up?
Keep in ming ‘elective’ means things like cancer and heart bypass.
I could get an MRI this afternoon for anything serious, like a sprained ankle.
Well they probably figure demand for MRIs will eventually die off.
Ouch.
My wife and I were on vacation in Victoria, BC. For those not familiar with the city, it is the provincial capital located on the very large island of Vancover which is situated west of the City of Vancouver. It is a good-sized city, and there are many other small towns located on the island.
After a tour of the Provincial Legislative building, we stepped outside to see a demonstration. It turns out that there were insufficient radiation machines for cancer treatment on the island. So, cancer patients either had to endure about a 6 month wait for treatment, or they had to travel to Vancouver. A trip to Vancouver required a 2 to 3 day journey as one could not take the ferry to Vancouver, get treatment and return home on the same day. Due to scheduling of the radiation equipment and the ferry schedule, it ofter required a three day trip.
Here in the US, anyone living in a city of comparable size would have no wait, and would be able to accomplish the same treatment, including travel, in one morning. These were cancer patients in Canada who were in risk of death. No thank you to Obamacare.
http://www.longwoods.com/product.php?productid=20537
In the summary, more rationing is the answer. "Improvement in wait list management is critical to reducing wait times to improve access, fairness and quality in the provision of MRI services in Canada."
This really illustrates what happens when there is no motivation for "evil" people and corporations to make a profit.
So the lucky patients get to go in front of the death panel to see who gets the treatment and who doesn’t....
Coming soon to the US, entire political which revolve around issues of x-rays, tongue depressers, blood tests, etc.
Here’s the secret to understanding why the health care industry is so breathtakingly screwed up: It’s a fixed cost industry. Over any relevant decision-making horizon, the costs are more than 85% fixed.
But we manage it as if 85% of costs are variable.
The scarce resource is intalled capacity, and the relevant cost metric is opportunity cost.
Vancouver’s actions would be like saying, hey, I’ve blown my budget buying this expensive iPod and installing all of these songs at $1 each. To save money, I now need to listen to it 20% less often.
As a good first approximation, there will be zero savings on imaging and a much higher cost treating patients who are diagnosed later in the disease state. And of course much more patient anxiety, worse outcomes, lower satisfaction, ...
VIHA = death panel
Of course it will die off, as quickly as the patients do.
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