Radiologists in Canada are calling for “urgent action” before a growing backlog of patients needing medical imaging leads to an onslaught of delayed diagnoses.
In a Sept. 26 letter to Health Minister Adrian Dix, the British Columbia Radiological Society pleaded for the province to intervene by providing the resources necessary to accommodate the “hundreds of thousands of patients” sitting in a queue waiting to be seen. The radiologists’ letter comes on the heels of a separate public plea for help from numerous specialists, including cardiologists, orthopedists, pediatricians and more, just a week prior.
Like much of the world, Canada is in the midst of medical staffing shortages, and the field of radiology in particular is short of both technologists and radiologists. This has resulted in significant imaging backlogs, causing patients to delay procedures and pushing overburdened medical professionals out of the field completely due to rising rates of burnout. All of this combined has many radiologists concerned for patients who continue to be left in limbo.
In the most recent letter to Dix, the radiologists red-flag the ramifications of growing imaging backlogs, stating that “Delays in medical imaging cause delays in diagnoses, specialist referrals, surgeries, medical treatments, cancer care and more.”
The initial letter sent by specialists highlighted several troubling statistics that are the direct result of a decline in specialist care. These include a backlog of more than 16,000 residents in need of an echocardiogram, wait times of two to three months for an oncology appointment following a cancer diagnosis and patients having to travel long distances for routine X-rays because their local wait times are “untenable.”
The radiologists’ letter added to the specialists’ call for intervention by specifically addressing issues that are of greatest concern in radiology. In it, the authors called for more technologists and technologist training, up-to-date equipment and quicker access to breast imaging.
Of great importance, the letter also implored authorities to send additional funding for community imaging clinics, some of which are on the brink of reducing services or closing already. If these clinics were to close, it would have a “catastrophic impact” on medical imaging wait times, the group cautioned.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.