MRI wait times too long

Too many patients in the Eastern Ontario region are still waiting too long for necessary MRI scans as part of their diagnosis and treatment procedures.

A partnership plan, set up two years ago between the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and local hospitals to redistribute scheduling of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appointments for patient referrals, managed a “significant” decrease in wait times prior to the situation in 2013.

But increasing demand since then threatens to rollback the progress made.

MRI scanning is a critical tool for diagnosing many internal injuries or disease conditions not detectable through X-ray or other diagnostic techniques.

The Champlain LHIN has boosted support funding to area hospitals for MRI “blitzes” but LHIN administration noted, in a recent report to the board of directors, that this is “temporary solution at best”.

The report indicated that emergency patients must have priority for MRI scans over less-urgent cases.

A review report on the situation from Ottawa Hospital President Dr. Jack Kitts included four recommendations. First is a centralized triage process for MRI referrals to try to even out the hospital wait lists throughout the Champlain LHIN region. The process could be in place within a few months.

The second recommendation is for improved management of MRI cases. The report noted, from interviews with radiologists at area hospitals, that five to 10 per cent of MRI requests are “unnecessary or inappropriate” and take away scheduling time for more urgent cases.

New scheduling guidelines based on medical evidence will help deal with this situation.

Third recommendation calls for more efficient MRI bookings, with emphasis on faster response to cancellations and “noshow” situations. This would also improve staffing efficiency for the radiology and other departments.

The final recommendation is for more funding to boost MRI capacity to handle patients.

The report noted that the 13 MRI scanners available throughout the Champlain LHIN could handle larger patient schedules through extra funding, if the funding focus is on hospital sites with the most critical wait times.

The Champlain LHIN board of directors approved the report recommendations and asked for administration to continue to monitor the situation through the 20162017 fiscal year, for a further report to the board.