The Saskatchewan government says more people in the province are benefiting from MRIs since private-pay magnetic resonance imaging services started in February, and at no cost to the public health system.
According to numbers released by the government on Thursday, over 1,700 people have used private MRIs.
READ MORE: Saskatchewan law allowing people to privately pay for MRIs kicks in
This includes 973 who opted to pay for scans and scans requested by organizations including the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Worker’s Compensation Board.
Another 757 people on the public wait list received a MRI scan at no additional cost, with 186 in the process of being scheduled.
“As demand for MRI services continues to increase, our government has provided choice and added capacity for patients seeking a timely MRI in our province,” Health Minister Jim Reiter said in a release.
Under provincial legislation, private clinics are required to provide a scan to someone on the wait list at no charge every time a MRI is given to someone who chooses to pay for it.
According to officials, use of private MRIs has saved the government over $835,000.
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Officials said the number of people waiting for a MRI dropped from 6,912 to 6,181 between March 31 and July 31.
“Our government continues to invest in the public system to support our goal of providing timely and high quality medical imaging services to Saskatchewan people at the same time as private-pay MRI services are growing,” Reiter said.
“The recent expansion of MRI service to Moose Jaw and the implementation of private-pay MRI services are contributing to a reduction in the number of patients waiting in southern Saskatchewan.”
The Saskatchewan government is now looking to expand the service to CT scans under the Patient Choice Medical Imaging Act.
Once enacted, private computed tomography (CT) scans would be offered to people in the same way as private MRIs.
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