Government Wasting More Health Care Dollars to Serve Less People

Ontario Government's purchase of a fixed PET/CT scanner at the Windsor Regional Hospital puts patient access at risk  

TORONTO, April 4, 2018 /CNW/ - The recent decision by the government of Ontario to fund the purchase of a fixed PET/CT scanner for the Windsor Regional Hospital was not based on sound evidence or policy and was not made in the best interest of all Ontarians.

Dr. Kevin Tracey, co-owner of Precision Diagnostic Imaging (PDI) provides a modern mobile PET/CT scan technology that creates access for patients in the Windsor-Essex area. Compared to fixed PET machines, mobile PET/CT technology can provide convenient access for northern and rural communities, it costs less and it delivers better value. 

The decision to suddenly fund a fixed PET scanner in Windsor also creates inequality across Ontario as many communities, such as Sudbury, were told they had to fundraise to purchase a machine for their community themselves.

Dr. Tracey has been actively working to promote access to mobile PET/CT scans in Ontario for years. He was promised an investment by the government in his innovative model. Instead, the government gave money to purchase a fixed PET scanner at Windsor Regional Hospital. Dr. Tracey says this will have immediate implications for access in the Windsor area and cost the taxpayer millions.

"If it's the government's plan is to increase access to PET/CT scans in the Windsor area, the most cost effective and highest quality solution would be to invest in PDI's existing mobile model so it can service a greater number of patients, without requiring a significant capital investment from government," said Dr. Tracey. "Our model could be providing convenient access to PET/CT scans in rural and remote communities across Ontario right now if the government was using health care dollars wisely by investing in models that work for the most Ontarians."

"Many state-of-the-art facilities around the world now use a mobile PET model to service remote communities and increase convenient access to this technology, including the Cleveland Clinic," said Dr. Christopher O'Brien, President of the Ontario Association of Nuclear Medicine. "The association supports an expansion of the mobile PET/CT model in Ontario because it would be the most timely, cost effective and convenient way to quickly expand access to this critical diagnostic tool."

Dr. Tracey is calling on the government to immediately overturn their decision to fund to fixed PET/CT scanner at Windsor Regional Hospital and invest to expand the mobile model in Ontario instead so that more Ontarians can benefit from the highest standard of diagnostic care.  

SOURCE Precision Diagnostic Imaging

Media Contact: Dr. Kevin Tracey, Co-owner, Precision Diagnostic Imaging, 519-965-0422, [email protected]