Earlier this month, the CAR recognized the International Day of Radiology on November 8th and National MRT Week from November 5th-11th with a social media awareness campaign. The purpose of the campaign was to publicly mark the occasions, promote the daily work of the different roles within medical imaging, raise awareness of important issues, and highlight the CAR’s interactions with government on finding solutions. Of particular focus was the need to address the ongoing critical lack of health human resources that impacts Canadian patients and the medical imaging field at every stage.
The shortage of health human resources in Canada is a topic on which the CAR has sounded the alarm for several years through advocacy work, including in the 2024 Pre-Budget Submission sent to the federal government. The submission outlines the need for more federal investment in health human resources in the coming years and the topic was brought up at length during the CAR’s Day on the Hill meetings with ministers and government officials.
On top of the organic social media messaging posted to this effect, the CBC published a timely article that echoes the CAR’s urgent calls to action with the story of a Saskatchewan patient whose breast cancer biopsy appointment kept getting delayed and kicked further down the road.
“Lindsay Rogers, who has a family history of breast cancer, found a lump in her left breast in April,” the article reads. “On June 16, her doctor found another lump in her right breast. He immediately referred her for an ultrasound. Despite her doctor's persistence and concern, Rogers did not get her ultrasound until Aug. 17. The Saskatchewan Health Authority says screenings, like ultrasounds, fell behind during the pandemic and that a backlog still exists.”
Additionally, the CAR Journal (CARJ) published a study during National MRT Week titled CT, MRI, and Medical Radiation Technologist Trends in Ontario which was shared on social media as part of the campaign. The article surveys existing data for CT and MRI exams in Ontario in comparison with the number of working MRTs and the total number of examinations performed by each. The study found that over the past two decades, the number of MRI and CT scans Ontario patients underwent nearly tripled, while the number of MRTs in the workplace did not keep pace with the examinations.
"Canada’s population grew by 23%...and will likely continue; commensurate growth in healthcare investment is critical."
Read the latest from the @CanRadJournal: CT, MRI, and MRT Trends in Ontario
🔗 https://t.co/up3hDQp1Cm@CAMRT_ACTRM @SonographyCNDA @GovCanHealth
— The Canadian Association of Radiologists (@CARadiologists) November 7, 2023
“From 2003 to 2020, the number of MRTs per CT machine decreased from 44 to 29 (Figure 2), while the number of CT examinations per machine was borderline unchanged (P = .066),” the study found. “The number of MRTs per MRI machine in the province did not change at approximately 4 MRTs per MRI machine, while the number of MRI examinations per machine increased (P = .001). There are now fewer CT MRTs per capita than previously, while there are more MRI MRTs per capita (P < .001).”
Though the International Day of Radiology and National MRT Week have now passed, the CAR will continue to work with government officials to prioritize investment in health human resources to ensure patients have timely access to the medical imaging they need.