Why won't Universal Healthcare work in the United States?

Tman1 Americans are not conserned about the qaulity of healthcare cause we know its the most cutting egde technology in the world. I heard somewhere and will look it up that the usa has 10,000 catscan machines compared to 50 for canada.

Manifest...10000 versus 50..I think you better check your numbers on that but regardless..Maybe the states needs so many Catscans because every doctor in the states needlessly orders them so they can get paid. My uncle who lives in the states recently broke his arm and was given a CT rather than a simple X-Ray because his insurance would pay for it.

For profit healthcare might just equal expensive and needless tests.

Canada’s Abysmal Health Technology Record

Written By: Nadeem Esmail
Published In: Health Care News

Publisher: The Heartland Institute

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The Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario has just added a new MRI unit; Alberta has committed itself to increasing the number of MRI units in the province by seven; and the Federal Government has allocated $1 billion of spending to increasing health technology. What is all this sudden fuss about MRI units?

The MRI machine is a relatively new device that became popular in the late 1980s. It creates images of the human body so doctors can analyze fluid movements, search areas like the brain or spinal cord for abnormalities, and diagnose muscle or soft tissue injuries. Although the machines are not cheap, they are of great value to surgeons, as none of these areas can be diagnosed with traditional x-ray based machines.

So now that Canada is investing heavily in these new, high-tech machines, will Canada be a health technology leader in the near future? Unfortunately, no.

Not for Lack of Spending

The country’s failure as a technology leader is not due to a lack of spending. Canada spends a lot of money on health care. In fact, when we consider the percentage of GDP spent on health care, Canada is the sixth highest spender in the Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development (OECD), and the fifth highest in actual dollars spent per person. (See table.)

Despite our record for high spending, relatively few health technologies are available to Canadians. Canada currently ranks a depressing nineteenth in a comparison of 25 OECD countries for MRI availability. A number of countries that spend less than Canada rank higher in the availability of MRI scanners.

At present, Canada would have to add 161 MRI machines to place sixth on the chart, which would equal its rank in total spending as a percent of GDP. That number leaps to an astonishing 327 MRIs if we wished to place second (leaving out Japan, which has a disproportionately high number of MRI machines).

These simple facts go a long way towards explaining the alarming median waiting time of 12 weeks for an MRI scan. We simply don’t have the technology available to us in quantities comparable to the rest of the OECD.

Less-Expensive Technology?

Of course, some will argue that Canada may have chosen to substitute less-expensive equipment for the very costly high-tech MRI machines. A computed tomography (CT) scanner, for example, can sometimes be used as a lower-cost, albeit lower-quality, alternative to an MRI scanner.

CT scanners generate an x-ray of a cross-section of the body (as opposed to the usual lengthwise image), which allows doctors to diagnose far more than they can with a basic x-ray, but still less than they can with an MRI. Specifically, the CT scanner is less able to diagnose problems in soft tissue or muscles.

If Canada in fact has been using CT scans in place of MRI scans to reduce costs, then Canada would rank relatively high on the CT scanner comparison in order to compensate for a relatively low ranking on the MRI comparison. Unfortunately for Canadians, this is not the case. In a comparison of 23 OECD countries, Canada’s rank for the availability of CT scanners was similar to its rank for MRI scanners: a depressing eighteenth.

There can be no disputing the facts: Health technology is not available to Canadians in a quantity that compares favourably with other wealthy OECD countries.

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Nadeem Esmail is health policy analyst at The Fraser Institute. He completed his B.A. in economics at the University of Calgary, and his Masters in economics at the University of British Columbia. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

Manifest..Here are the actual numbers.

http://www.cihi.ca/imaging/AR1043_2003data_e.html

CIHI report shows increase in MRI and CT scanners, up more than 75% in the last decade
Fewer Canadian women have mammograms than American women

In this release: More scans in 2003 | Mammograms | X-Rays | Canada Ranked Low | More Imaging Equipment | Medical Imaging in Canada | About CIHI | Tables & Figures | Report | Contact

January 13, 2005—A new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows Canada had 151 MRI scanners at the beginning of 2004, more than four times the number it had a decade ago (40), and up from 144 the previous year. The report, Medical Imaging in Canada, 2004 also notes a 44% increase in the number of CT scanners during the last decade, from 234 to 338. Since 1997, more MRI scanners than CT scanners were installed.

Across the country, Ontario had the most MRI machines with 52, while Prince Edward Island acquired its first MRI scanner in 2003. As of January 1, 2004, the country also had 618 nuclear medicine cameras, 171 angiography suites, 102 cardiac catheterization labs, and 16 PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanners.

Medical Imaging in Canada, 2004 is based on new provincial, national and international research looking at six different kinds of medical imaging technology, and includes data on the number of Canadians who undergo imaging tests, age of users, a tally of imaging equipment by province, age of medical equipment, and the medical imaging workforce.

“There are in fact more MRI and CT machines in operation, however, determining the impact these additional machines have on wait times remains a challenge. A number of factors affect wait times, such as the availability of trained staff to operate the machines and the extent to which physicians refer their patients for testing,” says Geoff Ballinger, CIHI Health Expenditures Manager.

Canadians report getting more scans in 2003
In 2003, an estimated two million Canadians, age 15 and over, reported undergoing specific medical imaging testing, an increase of 25% since 2001. The testing categories included non-emergency MRIs, CT scans or angiographies.

Canadian women get fewer mammograms than Americans
American women aged 50–69 were more likely than Canadian women of the same age to have had a recent mammogram. Using data from a 2002–2003 Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health, the report also shows that 82% of American women aged 50–69 reported that they had a mammogram in the last two years, compared to 74% of Canadian women in the same age group.

According to a 2003 survey, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan women, aged 50–69, had the highest rate of mammograms in the country within the past two years, with 75% and 74% respectively. Newfoundland and Nova Scotia women had the lowest rate with 66% and 64% respectively.

“In 2004, an estimated 21,000 women in Canada will develop breast cancer and about 5,200 women will die from this disease,” says Louise Ogilvie, Director, Health Resources Information at CIHI. “Tracking how many women are actually tested for breast cancer is important to help ensure that all women have access to appropriate screening.”

Basic X-ray exams still most common medical imaging procedure
Medical imaging may be done for many reasons: screening patients at risk for a disease, assessing treatments and prognoses, or guiding surgery or other interventions. In Ontario, the only province for which comprehensive data are available, basic X-ray and ultrasound examinations remain the most common procedures, accounting for nearly 80% of all medical imaging examinations (excluding angiography studies) in Ontario hospitals in 2002–2003.

According to the World Health Organization, diagnostic imaging is needed to make a correct diagnosis in some 20%–30% of medical cases worldwide, as clinical considerations alone are not sufficient. Of those cases that require diagnostic imaging, some 80%–90% of diagnostic problems can generally be solved using “basic” X-ray examinations and/or ultrasound examinations.

Canada ranks below OECD median in MRI and CT scanners per million people
Canada continues to rank below the midpoint among OECD countries for the number of MRI scanners and CT scanners per million population. Canada ranked thirteenth among the 20 OECD countries reporting MRI data for the latest year comparable data was available. Canada reported 4.6 MRI scanners per million, while Japan and the United States had the highest number with 35.3 and 19.5 per million, respectively. The median was 6.1. Canada was in sixteenth place among the 21 OECD countries reporting data on CT scanners, with 10.3 per million population. Japan and Korea had the highest number at 92.6 and 30.9 per million, respectively. The median was 13.3.

More imaging equipment but same number of technologists
While there has been an increase in the supply of new imaging equipment in the last decade, the supply of medical imaging professionals per 100,000 population has remained constant. In 2003, the rate of medical radiation technologists was 49 per 100,000 population while the rates of medical physicists and diagnostic radiology physicians remained at six per 100,000 and one per 100,000 respectively.

The population of medical radiation technologists (MRTs) is also aging. The proportion of MRTs aged 55 years or over increased from 4.1% in 1991 to 8.4% in 2001. Meanwhile the proportion of MRTs younger than 35 years decreased from 47.3% in 1991 to 31.4% in 2001.

Medical Imaging in Canada
Medical Imaging in Canada is a comprehensive annual report on the imaging field in Canada, incorporating the results of the 2004 National Survey of Selected Medical Imaging Equipment as well as new data from Statistics Canada, provincial/territorial ministries of health, professional associations and other sources. Equipment counts were requested from all imaging facilities, checked against manufacturers’ data and CIHI’s own data, and verified by provincial and territorial ministries of health. Topics covered in this report include the number and distribution of selected medical imaging technologies, the cost of medical imaging services and issues related to medical imaging human resources in Canada.

Canadian Institute for Health Information
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent, pan-Canadian, not-for-profit organization working to improve the health of Canadians and the health care system by providing quality health information. CIHI's mandate, as established by Canada's health ministers, is to coordinate the development and maintenance of a common approach to health information for Canada. To this end, CIHI is responsible for providing accurate and timely information that is needed to establish sound health policies, manage the Canadian health system effectively and create public awareness of factors affecting good health.

List of Tables and Figures

PJB in the mid 90's when iI heard the story it was true! and you still dont have that many.

Canada ranks below OECD median in MRI and CT scanners per million people
Canada continues to rank below the midpoint among OECD countries for the number of MRI scanners and CT scanners per million population. Canada ranked thirteenth among the 20 OECD countries reporting MRI data for the latest year comparable data was available. Canada reported 4.6 MRI scanners per million, while Japan and the United States had the highest number with 35.3 and 19.5 per million, respectively. The median was 6.1. Canada was in sixteenth place among the 21 OECD countries reporting data on CT scanners, with 10.3 per million population. Japan and Korea had the highest number at 92.6 and 30.9 per million, respectively. The median was 13.3.

Japan and Korea have similar healthcare insurance as the USA.

Manifest..You are right that Canada does not have the diagnostic tools that the United States does but I am curious as to the per capita numbers. They might be quite similar.

Answered that one already in the post above

Canada reported 4.6 MRI scanners per million, while Japan and the United States had the highest number with 35.3 and 19.5 per million, respectively.