CAR Descend on Parliament Hill to Address the Urgent Issue of long waits for Medical Imaging
Radiologists from across Canada met with MPs in Ottawa to raise awareness and voice their concerns about the long waiting times medical imaging patients have had to ensure. Wait times for advanced imaging were already 20 to 50 days longer than the acceptable 30 days before COVID struck and have increased since.
The Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) leadership is urging members of parliament, senators, and other government officials to take several steps to address this potential crisis. These include:
- Invest $1 billion over three years for medical imaging equipment to be distributed to the provinces on a per capita basis.
- Implement a health HR strategy—one that includes hiring more radiologic technologists.
- Collaborate with physicians to build a national clinical decision support (CDS) system that will equip imaging referrers with better access to medical imaging guidelines, ensuring that patients receive the right imaging test at the right time.
- Harness homegrown AI applications for the strategic prioritization of health human resources, technology, and infrastructure for medical imaging across Canada.
Dr. Ania Kielar, Vice Chair at Large and the Vice President of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, told CityNews "Wake Up With Rob Snow" on Nov. 23.
"If someone wants to get imaging done through a specialist or family physician, it could take months for a CT scan or MRI. By then, it could be too late, and we could have caught something a lot sooner," she said.
Dr. Kielar said there isn't enough equipment available across the country, and there's a lack of people who can use the equipment. She added that radiologists asked the federal government for support to the tune of $1 billion over the next three years to help add more equipment and help streamline more people who can use the equipment.
To listen to the radio interview go to the CityNews Article