Friday, January 21, 2005

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) has made a commitment to reduce the wait times and improve turnaround times for all diagnostic imaging procedures to address the growing demands for these services.

Diagnostic imaging encompasses a number of modalities, from Radiography, Ultrasound, Mammography and Nuclear Medicine, to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CT Scanning. Through different methods, they all concentrate on providing digital images of tissue and bone to diagnose and plan treatment for any number of diseases and trauma. Three dimensional imaging is provided through scans of the disease site, enabling physicians to pinpoint the exact location of the problem, and plan an exacting and thorough approach that best meets the patient needs.

By definition, a turn around time is the time that elapses between the procedure (ie, MRI) and the physician review of the image and the wait time is the time from referral to actual procedure. The Diagnostic Imaging program at TBRHSC has had compatible wait times as compared to the rest of the province, but aspires to provide greater access within a more reasonable time frame.

As the springboard for virtually every procedure that moves through TBRHSC, it is imperative that these services be accessible to the patient within a reasonable time frame. Growing demands for specific services, especially the MRI and CT Scanning, have generated a strategic action plan to ensure that the patient needs and increased patient volumes are being addressed. “We have committed ourselves to addressing the wait times and turn around times on all of these procedures,” stated Ron Saddington, President and CEO of TBRHSC. “We have extended the operating hours on the MRI by an additional twenty four hours a week, which will enable our elective wait times to be cut considerably, which will in turn translate into the better and more accessible care mandate that drives our programming. Specifically, we will be adding an additional 288 hours to our MRI operation.”

CT Scanning wait and turn around times are also being addressed, and with the current two CT Scanners in Diagnostic Imaging and Regional Cancer Care, and the additional CT Scanner coming on line next week at the Superior Imaging facility, there will be a notable wait times reduction, with turn around times directly impacted.

The partnership between Superior Imaging and TBRHSC is a landmark affiliation, the first of its kind in Ontario. The operating agreement between the two facilities includes one booking process, one shared technical staff, PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) connectivity, and the ability to manage global wait and turn around times and facilitate the best access to services for patients. Operated by four radiologists (three on staff at TBRHSC), Superior Imaging is classified as an Independent Health Facility, an initiative put in place by the provincial government and fully funded by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC).

The capacity at TBRHSC today accommodates approximately 14,000 scans per year. By adding 6,000 scans per year at the Superior Imaging facility, it is expected that wait times for CT procedures will be significantly alleviated. “Based on the growing demand for these procedures, we felt very strongly that this was the best approach to helping us reduce the wait times and turn around times for patients,” said Dr. Andreas Von Ritschl, Senior Radiologist and Principal with Superior Imaging. “With our mandate of ensuring the highest standards of care delivery and access, aligned with the program commitment to reduce wait times and turn around times, this solution couldn’t come at a better time.”

There are also plans to increase access and capacity to Mammography and Ultrasound, which will allow patients almost immediate access to these services. To focus Mammography services even more closely, a Women’s Breast Health Centre is being planned, to reduce wait times for breast cancer diagnosis. With all of the plans for improvement being implemented, the Diagnostic Imaging program is poised to become a leader in initiatives and programming. “We have really moved quickly on these plans, based on the numbers we were seeing,” commented Roy Lucas, Director of Diagnostic Imaging. “The radiologists are to be commended, with their forward thinking and hard work through this evaluation process. The entire staff in the program is remarkable, in fact; their work ethic and integrity are based upon the needs of our patients; they have always maintained the highest standards of professionalism and patient care.”

Related Information

Expanded CT Services - FAQ

Diagnostic Imaging Report 2005 - Adobe PDF (798 KB)

Patient Reference Brochure - Colour - Adobe PDF (1878 KB)

Patient Reference Brochure - Grayscale - Adobe PDF (869 KB)

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