Australian imaging department reaches $10M over budget
The medical imaging department at Canberra Hospital in Australia is currently $10 million over budget, driven largely by staffing shortages, according to a recent report by The Canberra Times.
Data from the Australian government revealed that costs within the department have been steadily increasing over the past three years due specialists on leave and medical supplies, according to the article.
Over the last financial year, the department was $4,278.081 over budget—spending $40,078,143; In 2016-17 they were $2,303,909 over budget—spending $38,224,334.
The department has been criticized for an increase in outsourced reporting for CT scans, x-rays and MRIs to private vendors, which hospital doctors have reported has let to mistakes and poor patient outcomes. But the government said it was necessary because of the hospital’s shortage of radiologists caused by taking unplanned leave.
The hospitals radiology department has also been at risk of losing its teaching accreditation. Several training and safety issues needing “immediate action” were revealed in an interim accreditation report from March, according to article.
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A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.