Federal and Provincial Health Systems in Canada

As a medical radiological technologist (MRT), my role in the Canadian healthcare system is to perform patient-centred diagnostic examinations and participate in interventional radiography. I am a dual-certified technologist in the MRI and X-ray disciplines. My profession is regulated by the Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technologists’ standards of practice and code of ethics (Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic & Therapeutic Technologists, 2023), which stems from the Alberta Health Profession Act (Health Professions Act, 2000).

In Alberta, diagnostic imaging is available in hospitals and private clinics, demonstrating a hybrid approach within the publicly funded healthcare system. Some medically necessary diagnostic imaging can be done privately while covered by Alberta Health. While this represents a step toward improving wait times for diagnostic imaging, it falls short of the reform required to modernize and sustain the healthcare system. Lengthy wait time for CT and MRI has serious negative impacts on overall health and treatment outcomes. Recent data from May to July of 2023 shows that 90% of pediatric patients wait 29.8 weeks for an MRI scan (Government of Alberta, 2023).

This also illustrates the need to improve efficiency by addressing inappropriate CT and MRI requisitions and improving their completeness. Using evidence-based red flags on diagnostic imaging requisition (Khoury et al., 2019) is one step in that direction.

Moreover, my role as an instructor and clinical liaison adds another dimension to where I fit in the Canadian health system. Wearing the instructor hat, I have the responsibility to teach, train, and assess future technologists. The curriculum we teach aligns with entry-to-practice outcomes set by the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists in the national competency profile (Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, n.d.). Also, the program must meet the criteria set by Accreditation Canada (Accreditation Canada, n.d.).

References

Accreditation Canada. (n.d.). Health Education Accreditation. https://accreditation.ca/assessment-programs/health-education-accreditation/

Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic & Therapeutic Technologists. (2023). Standards of Practice—ACMDTT. https://acmdtt.com/about-us/documents/standards-of-practice/

Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists. (n.d.). National Competency Profiles. https://www.camrt.ca/certification-4/current-competency-profiles/

Government of Alberta. (2023). Alberta MRI Wait Times Reporting. http://waittimes.alberta.ca/CategorySummary.jsp?rcatID=18&levelOfCare=All.

Health Professions Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta Chapter H-7 (2000). https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=H07.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779740772

Khoury, M., Tolentino, M., Haj-Ahmad, Z., Lilek, C., & Law, M. P. (2019). Assessing Appropriateness of CT and MRI Referrals for Headache and Lumbar: A Canadian Perspective on Patient-Centered Referrals. Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences, 50(4), 506–513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2019.08.007