When I was working at Yale-New Haven Hospital I recall the line-up outside the CT Suites in the basement. Thing is, at night they would close most of the CT suites so the line was constant. Someone did a calculation that it was better to make people wait hours than provide the staff to run more of the CT suites 24/7.
Of course, the standard of care that triggers ordering a CT is very different in the U.S. than other countries. In the U.S., if you are involved in a Trauma and experience LOC (loss of consciousness) they are going to give a CT to make sure you aren't experiencing some kind of brain bleed (cf. Natasha Richardson).
But when I was in a car crash in England with LOC for several minutes at the scene and fractured ribs and vomiting in the Trauma bay, etc., they didn't even do a neural exam, much less a CT!
The wait-time in Canada for CT has people simply going across the border and paying for the tests out of pocket. Now they have even opened up private CT scan clinics (there is at least one in Montreal) to fill the demand of people wanting to slip around the system.
Still, I prefer the Canadian system to the American one, having seen both up close. The marginal difference in "quality" (viz. wait times and expensive tests that catch statistically improbable diagnosis) is more than offset by the lives saved by preventative care. IMHO...
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Meanwhile people wait months for a CT scan machine to open up...
When I was working at Yale-New Haven Hospital I recall the line-up outside the CT Suites in the basement. Thing is, at night they would close most of the CT suites so the line was constant. Someone did a calculation that it was better to make people wait hours than provide the staff to run more of the CT suites 24/7.
Of course, the standard of care that triggers ordering a CT is very different in the U.S. than other countries. In the U.S., if you are involved in a Trauma and experience LOC (loss of consciousness) they are going to give a CT to make sure you aren't experiencing some kind of brain bleed (cf. Natasha Richardson).
But when I was in a car crash in England with LOC for several minutes at the scene and fractured ribs and vomiting in the Trauma bay, etc., they didn't even do a neural exam, much less a CT!
The wait-time in Canada for CT has people simply going across the border and paying for the tests out of pocket. Now they have even opened up private CT scan clinics (there is at least one in Montreal) to fill the demand of people wanting to slip around the system.
Still, I prefer the Canadian system to the American one, having seen both up close. The marginal difference in "quality" (viz. wait times and expensive tests that catch statistically improbable diagnosis) is more than offset by the lives saved by preventative care. IMHO...
-t
still waiting on the PET scan app for cell phones
Anyone else notice that Cellphones are morphing into Tricorders? -t
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