Sask. government awards contract to MRI provider in wake of increased referrals

Mayfair Diagnostics has been announced as the company chosen to expand the capacity for MRI scans in Saskatchewan.

The company has been awarded the contract, worth about $14 million, to provide at least 4,500 scans per year, a move intended to ease the growing demand for the procedure.

"For the last three years we've increased capacity for MRIs by about 11 percent but the demand the referrals has increased by 18 per cent," Health Minister Jim Reiter said in Saskatoon on Wednesday.

The company will provide the scans to people in the northern portion of the province but the results will still be sent to radiologists in Alberta, where the company is based.

Services are expected to begin in August.

The number of patients referred for an MRI has increased substantially over the years, from 39,000 patients in 2016 to 46,000 in 2019.