Health P.E.I. gives details of how deal with Moncton MRI clinic to pare waitlist will work

Health P.E.I. has negotiated a contract with a private clinic in Moncton, N.B., to increase access to MRI scans for some Prince Edward Island patients, says agency CEO Melanie Fraser. 

The deal will ensure access by setting aside a certain number of scan appointments at the clinic each day for patients sent by Health P.E.I., she said.   

More than 400 people living on P.E.I. are on the waitlist for semi-urgent MRI scans, with more being added each day, Fraser told Island Morning host Mitch Cormier on Friday. 

"Individuals are prioritized based on clinical need and they'll be identified and offered [a Moncton scan]," she said. "If somebody doesn't want to travel, they can always maintain their [waitlist] place here on the Island."

If a patient agrees to travel to New Brunswick, she said Health P.E.I. will set up the appointment and deal with all the paperwork.  

The plan to send the most critical patients out of province to access MRI services comes as Islanders report waiting longer than ever for the diagnostic scans, sometimes up to two years. 

Fraser said technicians at the private clinic will position the patients and perform the scans, but physicians and radiologists on P.E.I. will interpret the images and provide treatment, if necessary.

"Everything is done centrally," she said. "It's just that the scan itself will happen… in Moncton."

Patients will be reimbursed for travel costs, including fuel, bridge tolls and bus fare, she said. 

Leveraging capacity 

Sending patients out of the province for MRI scans is just one part of Health P.E.I.'s plan to reduce the backlog, Fraser said. 

The contract to send patients to Moncton was based on the fact that the clinic there has the capacity to serve Islanders now, but the health agency is working on other strategies, too, she said. 

"We also know that we can put more through the MRI that we have here on the Island with more staff," she said, referring to the sole machine in operation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. "We've been working hard… to double the staff [here]." 

Fraser said Health P.E.I. has also been having conversations with the Atlantic Veterinary College about using its MRI machine, acquired back in 2023 to help diagnose issues with small and large animals brought to the Charlottetown facility for care.

"There is some construction that they need to do to make that facility suitable to human patients," she said. "But once that capacity comes online… we're happy to work with any partner that introduces capacity into the system."

Fraser said Health P.E.I. will be opening up a procurement process to let those potential partners offer a service.

"It's transparent, it's fair, and hopefully it gets us the right price and value for money," she said. 

"As long as it's high quality, it's good for providers, it's good for patients and it delivers good value for money and supports health equity… I think we're on the right track."

Fraser said she hopes the health agency's plans will boost the number of people who can receive scans at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and eventually clear the MRI waitlist. 

"I'd really like to see us be in a position to be able to move this wait list back to within national standards — and honestly exceed national standards — within a year," she said. 

Improving treatment 

While reducing the backlog for scans is part of the equation, reducing wait times for treatment is another part. 

"We also have significant efforts going on to reduce wait times on surgical backlogs, to increase access to primary care, to increase patient flow through the hospital," Fraser said. 

"Having a diagnostic tool is a wonderful thing, but then if treatment is required, you want to make sure that those treatment times fall within acceptable standards."