People across British Columbia are getting the MRI and CT scans they need faster and closer to home, with the most MRI and CT scans ever in a year last year.
“In March 2018, we committed to increase the capacity of MRI in the province. Since then, we have invested in improved patient services, adding new capacity and increasing examinations, “said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “We are keeping our promise to build capacity in our public health system so that British Colombians do not have to wait months and months for their exams.
In 2021-22, 296,211 MRI examinations were performed, which is an increase of 49,105, or 20% compared to the previous year. The number of CT examinations performed was 901,256, or 11% more than the previous year.
From 2016-17, the waiting time for MRI examinations has been reduced by more than half. The number of MRI scans has increased by 120,504 examinations, or 69% since then. Since August 2017, scanning time has increased to more than 4,600 hours per week, which is 1,800 hours more per week and an increase of 68%. This has been achieved by expanding MRI appointments in the evenings, on weekends and holidays, and by operating the equivalent of 17 new MRI units throughout the province.
In 2021-22, two new nuclear magnetic resonances began to operate. One was at St. Paul’s Hospital, the third for the facility, and one at Granville’s new magnetic resonance imaging clinic, which opened last year. A new computer scanner was discovered in January 2022 at Burnaby Hospital, the second of its kind.
To support training and recruitment efforts, the Ministries of Health and Higher Education and Skills and Training, together with the BC Institute of Technology, have also set up a scholarship program for MRI technologists. The program, launched in April 2022, provides support to MRI technology students so that they can graduate earlier and enter the workforce earlier.
The Ministry of Health has also issued its first policy for the management of waiting lists for medical images, which outlines best practices for optimal management of waiting lists for MRI and CT. This policy ensures that the care provided is patient-centered by increasing access, choice and transparency, and improving communication about the status of patient waiting lists and referral physicians.
“We have always kept in mind that our patients and the health care they depend on are at the heart of our efforts,” Dix said. “We are celebrating with them because we see that the image capacity is increasing and the waiting time has decreased over the last five years. We also know that there is still work to be done. “We are committed to continuing our hard work to make further improvements in patients’ access to MRI and CT scans.”
Next year, efforts will be focused on:
- building additional capacity by taking more exams, increasing working hours and adding new scanners;
- increase core staff by improving education and training opportunities, such as the introduction of an MRI technology scholarship program;
- optimizing business processes by increasing efficiency to improve the provision of services for a better, more efficient experience for patients and referral physicians; and
- improving the management of waiting lists and communication on the status of waiting lists by continuing to apply best practices in the management of waiting lists.
MRI and CT scanners are non-invasive tools used to form images of the human body to assess certain medical conditions. MRI scanners use powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to assess neurological, musculoskeletal, heart and abdominal diseases and to stage cancer.
The CT scanner combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around the body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images. CT scans are commonly used to assess trauma and cerebrovascular conditions, to examine chest and abdominal abnormalities, to stage and monitor cancer, and for preoperative and postoperative evaluation.
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To see the annual progress report on medical imaging for 2021-22, visit:
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