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> In Canada the waiting lists for mri and other advanced testing can be long where the same tests/operations can be done as a walkin option that day in the US.

Are there no private MRI machines in Canada? In many countries with free healthcare, you can still "just walk in" to any private hospital/clinic and get an MRI done.

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BC banned private MRI clinics a year ago.

They did however bring some under the provincial healthcare fold, so general turnaround times have improved with more scanners... And they are running more often (they weren't running 24/7.

I work in imaging, visited 100s of hospitals in Canada and mainly USA.

Would be uncommon to see a unreported list in USA with exams 24 hours or older.

In Canada it was common to see months. These are scans performed but not interpreted by a radiologist .

So for urgent cases(like dieing in the hospital), there is hardly any wait and read right away.

But if it's somewhat none urgent (friend waiting 1 year for a MRI for nerve/back pain), you might have to wait awhile for the scan and then the report.

If you in a population dense area, you might be waiting awhile, but may get quicker service in smaller nearby towns(I had a 3 month wait for. Knee scan, went for a 2 hours drive for a scan a week later)

Our public healthcare has caps on how much a radiologist can read/get paid, so there is no incentive in Canada for radiologists go full force.

In USA they are paid per exams, and depending on case types could be reading 100s per day.

> BC banned private MRI clinics a year ago.

Would you mind explaining why they'd do such a thing?

It wasn't specific to MRI clinics, but they elimited two tiered healthcare opti9ns as some perception it benefited the wealthy, and would attract doctors to privatized healthcare, further impacting public healthcare.

Same thing for non-elective surgeries.

You can't goto a private clinic for a surgery offered under public healthcare

Basically removed being able to pay to skip the queue, some people felt it was unfair, and to uphold integrity of public healthcare...

2 good recent sources on the topic.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7326893/bc-supreme-court-ruling-p...

https://www.capitaldaily.ca/news/private-two-tier-healthcare...

In Ontario, private MRIs aren't allowed except as a third-party service — such as an employer paying through private insurance. Think professional sports team ordering an mri for a basketball player.

There are private MRI businesses, but not many. When a friend of mine had some hard to diagnose brain malfunction his family drove to NY to get one.

Sure, but you're already paying for a public service

We all pay taxes that build and maintain our roads, but that's no reason to not shell out for an airline ticket if we want to get somewhere faster.

In my country I can see a doctor for free after a 0-4hr queue in a hospital waiting room or pay USD$10 to immediately see any of the dozen private doctors within a 5 min drive of my home.

My taxes already pay for free healthcare, but I'm more than happy to pay more to avoid wait times.

But I live in the "third world", so I understand your experience might be different.

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