In article ,
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

That's one of those oft repeated lies that if they get told often
enough they become true.


Medical Imaging in Canada, 2007 reports that in 2007, there were 419 CT
scanners and 222 MRI machines installed and operational in Canada, up
from 325 and 149, respectively, in 2003. In the most recent year,
between 2006 and 2007, the number of CT scanners increased by 27 and the
number of MRI scanners increased by 21. The rate of MRI and CT exams
performed per 1,000 population in Canada rose by 43% and 28%,
respectively, in the four years between 2003 and 2007, and rose by 4%
and 5%, respectively, in the most recent year. (Last year I could find
information for. )

BTW: It was also shown that Canada performs about half the number of
MRIs per unit of population than the US.
But the lie aside- It isn't how many MRIs you have that make
healthcare for everyone work. It is how much access to good
healthcare everyone has.

But this does from the same study: Despite the increases, Canada, with
12 CT scanners and 6 MRI machines per million population, falls below
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) median
of 15 CT scanners and 7 MRI machines per million population in 2005, the
latest year for which data are available.

That would tend to argue that MRI access is less than optimal.


MRIs & similar expensive machines are part of our problem with
out-of-control healthcare costs. A Dr. buys a machine and starts all
his diagnostics by using the damn thing so the patient's insurance
company can pay for it.
Yet ALL kinds of imaging (from X-rays for broken bones, to
mammography (which studies have shown is probably overdone and
expensive)mean just 5% or so of all US expenditures. We could rub out
all the doc-owned machines in the US tomorrow and make little difference.
BTW: The US Government is one of the larger reasons for the
proliferation of the these kinds of machines (and speciality hospitals
like Ortho and Heart). They don't pay for **** for actual doctoring, but
they do pay nicely for facility fees, etc. This has been shown to cause
many dislocations such as these. If you get the Government out it, you
might save even more.



Jim
BTW- I've asked a half dozen Canadians that I've met if they'd prefer
our healthcare system to theirs & so far, no takers.
Which is even less useful than the MRI comparison. Your poll probably
has an error range of +/- 100%

--
I want to find a voracious, small-minded predator
and name it after the IRS.
Robert Bakker, paleontologist