British Columbia is set to allocate $11 million Canadian ($8.6 million U.S.) to reduce wait times for MRI scans in the province, according to a March 27 report by CBC.
By doing so, public healthcare officials expect to increase the number of scans by 20%, or approximately 37,000 exams, by this time next year.
Some 188,000 MRI scans are scheduled to be performed in British Columbia in 2018. The funding will bring the province's capacity to 225,000 scans.
Overall wait times for MRI exams exceed 41 days for half of all patients, with 10% having to wait more than 199 days, according to Canada's Health Ministry and CBC. The initiative comes from a campaign promise made by Canada's New Democratic Party to reduce the waitlist for radiology exams, said Health Minister Adrian Dix.
