Province to reduce MRI backlog

Alberta Health Services will perform an additional 9,000 MRI scans by the end of March to reduce a backlog of patients waiting for procedure across the province.

Calgary, with the longest waiting list, will get an additional 4,700 additional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Edmonton will get another 3,000, leaving 1,350 for the rest of the province. 

It's expected the extra scans will help people with shoulder or knee problems get help sooner.

MRIs are used to visualize internal structures in detail.

The province does about 166,000 MRIs each year.

The total cost of the additional MRIs is about $3.6 million.