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>I did not feel like waiting 2 months for an MRI so I decided to use my private insurance at a private carrier. I wonder what's up with all those MRI shortages

>I did not feel like waiting 2 months for an MRI so I decided to use my private insurance at a private carrier. I wonder what's up with all those MRI shortages in some places? I got my last MRI a couple of years ago in Germany, fully covered by public insurance, had to wait like 2 weeks for my appointment. Sounds like some places are in dire need of more MRI capacity?

the_mitsuhiko 9y ago
> I wonder what's up with all those MRI shortages in some places? In Austria it's largely because the insurer wants people not to do MRIs unless necessary. So they typically sens you to an doctor first to confirm you need one, the approve from the insurer and then you get to wait a bit. There are plenty of MRI machines in Austria because the place I got mine also takea publicly insured patients.
fatbird 9y ago
Because Canada's approach to universal coverage is socialized insurance, it controls costs overall with price controls and with funding big ticket medicine carefully. MRIs are very expensive to buy and operate, comparatively, so for elective use (which includes a doctor treating someone with headaches and wants one to rule out a brain tumour), you're on a waiting list that could be six months or longer. For emergency use (like my nephew who fell and hit his head) you get it right away.
- freeflight 9y ago
  >Because Canada's approach to universal coverage is socialized insurance But so is Germany's? I didn't get that MRI because "I just felt like it", it was due to decade long migraine problems and I had to see a neurologist before getting the MRI. I still don't understand these massive waiting times in some places, sounds more like a lack of capacity than anything else.
  - fatbird 9y ago
    Yes, it's a deliberate lack of capacity for a common form of big ticket medicine, which reduces costs overall. If you have migraines in Canada, you'll likely end up getting an MRI at some point, and you might wait six months to get it (though there are private options, and there are also ways to get in before your appointment like being ready on the cancellation list). For a lot of things, MRIs are a medical convenience, not a necessity. When they're medically necessary, you get in within hours--my nephew got driven to the hospital with a head injury, and an MRI was the first thing they did. But if it's elective, you go on a waiting list, which might be short, but might be long. This is probably the most complained about aspect of Canadian health care, with some justice, but it's not obvious that eliminating all wait times with sufficient capacity for immediate access would yield better medical outcomes for the extra cost.

the_mitsuhiko 9y ago

> I wonder what's up with all those MRI shortages in some places? In Austria it's largely because the insurer wants people not to do MRIs unless necessary. So they typically sens you to an doctor first to confirm you need one, the approve from the insurer and then you get to wait a bit. There are plenty of MRI machines in Austria because the place I got mine also takea publicly insured patients.

fatbird 9y ago

Because Canada's approach to universal coverage is socialized insurance, it controls costs overall with price controls and with funding big ticket medicine carefully. MRIs are very expensive to buy and operate, comparatively, so for elective use (which includes a doctor treating someone with headaches and wants one to rule out a brain tumour), you're on a waiting list that could be six months or longer. For emergency use (like my nephew who fell and hit his head) you get it right away.

freeflight 9y ago
>Because Canada's approach to universal coverage is socialized insurance But so is Germany's? I didn't get that MRI because "I just felt like it", it was due to decade long migraine problems and I had to see a neurologist before getting the MRI. I still don't understand these massive waiting times in some places, sounds more like a lack of capacity than anything else.
- fatbird 9y ago
  Yes, it's a deliberate lack of capacity for a common form of big ticket medicine, which reduces costs overall. If you have migraines in Canada, you'll likely end up getting an MRI at some point, and you might wait six months to get it (though there are private options, and there are also ways to get in before your appointment like being ready on the cancellation list). For a lot of things, MRIs are a medical convenience, not a necessity. When they're medically necessary, you get in within hours--my nephew got driven to the hospital with a head injury, and an MRI was the first thing they did. But if it's elective, you go on a waiting list, which might be short, but might be long. This is probably the most complained about aspect of Canadian health care, with some justice, but it's not obvious that eliminating all wait times with sufficient capacity for immediate access would yield better medical outcomes for the extra cost.