With the fall season nearly upon us, advocacy is top of mind for the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR). On August 4^th we submitted our 2024 Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance. The theme for this report is focused on the sustainability of radiology in Canada. Read More

Celebrating the achievements of a very successful CAR Annual Scientific Meeting this past April, I have begun to embrace my role representing you as your President. The CAR is working on your behalf on many levels to help our members be more successful in their practices. Read More

From March 1^st-5^th, the CAR attended the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, Austria. The ECR is one of the largest annual medical meetings in Europe and the second-largest radiological meeting for radiology professionals, radiographers, physicists, and industry members in the world. Read More

The CAR is a membership focused organization. For the last 86 years, the CAR has strived to make its members more successful. The management of your membership dues is something the CAR takes seriously. Read More

CAR President Dr. Gilles Soulez Shares Highlights from This Past Year

The last two years have been challenging for the radiology community. The pandemic had a dramatic impact on healthcare delivery and changed the way radiologists practice. It also exacerbated the extensive wait times experienced by patients for medical imaging. Even with procedures returning to full capacity, pandemic protocols, while necessary, have added to the time it takes to complete medical imaging tests. Read More

On November 15^th the CAR hosted its 7^th Annual Day on Parliament Hill. This date was selected to coincide with the International Day of Radiology (November 8). The purpose of the Day on the Hill is to advocate for the advancement of radiology at the national level and to raise awareness of the important role that radiologists play in the healthcare system. Radiologists - in person again - are being seen more, heard more, and are striving to be better understood. Read More

On November 8, radiologists and professionals from related fields will celebrate the 11^th International Day of Radiology all over the world. Let’s celebrate together! Read More

As the fall season ramps up, advocacy is top of mind for the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR). With parliament returning to session, it is an ideal opportunity for the CAR to resume our efforts in improving access to medical imaging for Canadians. In the last couple of weeks, we have been successful in getting the message out to the public through media coverage. Dr. Ania Kielar, CAR Vice-President spoke to Global News and CFRA 580 Ottawa about the need for a federal investment of $1 billion in new medical imaging equipment and the development of a health human resources strategy that incorporates radiology. Read More

From September 22-24 the CAR Board of Directors gathered in Halifax, Nova Scotia to discuss the upcoming priorities for the fall and to undertake the development of a new strategic plan for the next five years. Despite the challenges presented from Hurricane Fiona, the Board, with representatives from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan (2), Ontario (2), Quebec (2), New Brunswick (2), Nova Scotia, the ACR and a resident representing the Resident and Fellow Section, weathered the storm and had a very productive discussion. The meeting kicked off with a presentation from Dr. Gilles Soulez, CAR President, summarizing the successes and highlights of the last several months. Read More

With the warmer weather upon us, for many of our members the focus is on summer vacations. I hope that you have been able to get away from work to recharge your batteries. I would like to thank our members for their continued support and recognize the many radiologist leaders who have taken time out of their hectic schedules, even through prime vacation season, to support and lead initiatives that will have a significant impact on patient care in Canada. Read More

The CAR welcomes the government's announcement today of a $2B federal investment in reducing wait times, including for diagnostics. Echoing our #Budget2022 submission, we are pleased to see that the investment would be allocated on a per capita basis to the provinces. We are committed to working with federal and provincial governments to ensure that Canadian patients have timely access to diagnostics. We would like to acknowledge the CAR Board of Directors who have had over 150 (registered) meetings with Members of Parliament. Read More

Earlier this month the CAR sounded the alarm to national news media, alerting the public of the significant backlog for medical imaging in Canada. With the latest COVID-19 variant infiltrating the healthcare system, Canadians requiring medical imaging for various conditions are once again being told they must wait, as hospitals fill with COVID-19 patients. Read More

Join Our Parliamentary Outreach Program

As part of our ongoing advocacy efforts, the CAR Board of Directors has been actively involved in meeting with MPs from across the country. The goal is to obtain support for CAR’s priorities in obtaining a $1.5 Billion + investment in medical imaging equipment and health human resources. Read More

Financing models for healthcare are evolving, with greater emphasis now being placed on value. How does radiology fit into this equation and how can we be certain that its value is maximized? Representatives from the CAR contributed to a multi-society[1] expert statement published in the CARJ and other journals in December 2020 that outlines the value contributed to healthcare by radiology, and explains how value may be measured, recognized, and augmented. Here we summarize the key points and offer a Canadian perspective on that international publication, Radiology in the Era of Value-Based Healthcare: A Multi-Society Expert Statement From the ACR, CAR, ESR, IS3R, RANZCR, and RSNA. Read More

Dr. Mike Barry, CAR President, shares highlights from 2020 2020 has been a challenging year for healthcare, particularly for the radiology community. The pandemic not only changed our practices but also added to the extensive waitlists experienced by patients for medical imaging. With many procedures being scaled back by 30-50% at the height of the pandemic, patients are now waiting even longer than before, creating a dire situation for imaging in Canada. CAR members demonstrated leadership during this difficult time and as a result I believe the CAR emerged as one of the leading specialty societies in the pandemic response. Read More

From November 2-6, the CAR hosted its first Virtual Week on the Hill. For the last several years the CAR has traditionally hosted the Day on the Hill to coincide with the International Day of Radiology (November 8). The purpose of the Day on the Hill is to advocate for the advancement of radiology at the national level and to raise awareness of the important role that radiologists play in the healthcare system.
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We understand that COVID-19 has caused a lot of uncertainty for residents and fellows. Not only have certification examinations been postponed, but we have heard that some fellowship opportunities have been cancelled or suspended due to travel restrictions. The CAR is here to help. We have recently updated our fellowship opportunities listing. Read More

COVID-19 is the largest health and economic crisis of our time. Millions of people have been affected, causing hundreds of thousands of fatalities in over 217 countries and territories around the world. Read More

The next steps will include working with the federal government and our provincial counterparts to have a cross-country strategy. This will also enhance the need for a federal investment ($1.5 billion) in medical imaging equipment inventory and health human resources. Now more than ever is the time for the government to take action. The pandemic has created a significant build-up for diagnostic imaging procedures. With an investment in equipment and staff, as well as a comprehensive plan for re-entry, we can get in front of the situation, thereby minimizing wait times, improving patient outcomes and limiting physician burnout. More details to come in the coming weeks as we roll out our advocacy strategy and take a closer look at wait times in Canada.

For the last four years, the CAR priority has been advocating and securing a federal investment in a medical imaging inventory across the country. As our members are aware, we had considerable movement in 2019, specifically during the federal election in October. Read More