Island Health is welcoming a provincial commitment to pay for more MRI scans.
The province is rolling out a four year plan to increase patient access to the procedure across all the Health Authorities.
Bob Brandt is the Director of Medical Imaging with Island Health. He says part of the reason for high demand and long wait lists is the huge improvements in the technology.
He says that means MRIs are useful in a lot more cases, like heart issues
Brandt says demand for MRIs on the island has gone up 25 percent over the last year.
And, in Vancouver Coastal Health territories like the Sunshine Coast, they’re only meeting the bench mark on wait-times for 13 per cent of patients.
