Private MRI debate worth having
IMPORTANT THAT ACCESS TO PUBLIC SCANS ISN’T REDUCED.
Familiar philosophical battle lines have emerged in public reaction to Premier Brad Wall’s suggestion that Saskatchewan patients could choose to pay for their own MRI scans at private clinics in the province.
While some welcome that option, saying there’s no reason this province should lag behind Alberta, where such clinics already operate, others fear it’s another step towards health-care privatization that would favour the wealthy.
But the reality is that perhaps this is an idea whose time has finally come. After all, those with sufficient economic means already have the option of going outside the province for immediate scanning, whether in Alberta, North Dakota or elsewhere.
So why not here? Introduction of private clinics to Saskatchewan would seem to put that possibility within the economic reach of more people; the scans themselves might cost the same, but the need — and cost — for travel would be reduced or eliminated.
And let’s not forget that even the NDP, staunchly opposed to private health care, was paying for workers’ compensation and SGI claimants to have their MRIs performed at private Alberta clinics when it was in government.
One argument of the private clinic proponents is that those who voluntarily opt to pay for private scans free up the spot they’re occupying in the public queue, resulting in faster service for everybody.
Opponents fear the cost to be too high: a weakening of the government’s commitment to the public health system and a drain of health-care professionals from the public system to the private.
The first is a question of ideology. We find it difficult to support the notion that one person’s political persuasion should prevent another from voluntarily using their own resources as they see fit, provided no harm is done to others.
The second is a question of logistics. It’s here that we remain unswayed by contentions there’s some way to prevent those employed in the public sector from moving on to jobs in private MRI clinics.
Whatever’s decided, ethical dilemmas will arise. If a private scan reveals a lifethreatening illness, should that patient receive treatment faster than someone suffering the same condition but who remains undignosed because they are waiting for a public scan?
Conversely, is it just to deny the option of a more timely private scan, on the grounds of political and social equity, to someone whose life it could conceivably save?
Tough questions, but part of a discussion worth having.
Should the introduction of private MRI clinics in some way reduce public access to provincially funded MRIs, they should not be allowed. If not, we find ourselves favouring more choice, not less, in the provision of health services.