Free MRI Scan's for over 40's countrywide?

Andy From Sligo

Anita Blow wrote: »

Shows make a lot of medical stuff look easier than it is! :pac:
But as was said, even in those shows the doctors are looking for something. You absolutely need to know what you're looking for with MRI because as I said, there's different weightings and phases & contrasts. Depending on what you're looking for, MRI can be relatively invasive because it involves injection of a contrast agent. All contrast agents carry risks so radiologists don't like to use them on just anybody.

MRI Scan may be used for some brain conditions, but not for Lung & rarely for the heart. So they're talking about other scans in those shows. Like if they believed someone to have lung cancer, they may do an X-Ray and then they may do a CT which altogether is >2 years worth of background radiation which you couldn't justify exposing the entire population to

I had a CT scan a few years back. The contrast is the Dye they put into the arm isnt it as they are doing the CT scan? I had that - makes you feel like your gonna pee yourself but you dont . - bloody hell they never indicated to me it was more than 2 years of radiation! - shyte! :eek: - no, wonder I glow in the dark like the readybrek ads!

never heard of the terms 'weightings and phases' - I dont know what they are.

yeah In 2009 I had (PE) pulmonary embolism and that showed up with a normal chest x-ray - so that would have me another dose of radiation then - would a PE not show up on MRI ?

What about ultrasounds do they contain radiation to?

Anita Blow

PE wouldn't show up on an X-ray because X-ray isn't good for looking at the vessels. You would've had a CTPA for that which is a specific type of CT where they inject a dye and time the CT to scan through your pulmonary vessels at the same time the dye is passing through them and you'll be able to see a clot obstructing the flow of the dye in one or more of the vessels.

And that's a good example of risk VS benefit in terms of choosing who gets an imaging investigation and who doesn't. Your doctor suspected you had a PE based on signs/symptoms/blood tests and the radiologist agreed that on balance, the risk if you dying from that PE was greater than any radiation risk of a CT so they could justify exposing you to that radiation.

Andy From Sligo

Anita Blow wrote: »

PE wouldn't show up on an X-ray because X-ray isn't good for looking at the vessels. You would've had a CTPA for that which is a specific type of CT where they inject a dye and time the CT to scan through your pulmonary vessels at the same time the dye is passing through them and you'll be able to see a clot obstructing the flow of the dye in one or more of the vessels.

And that's a good example of risk VS benefit in terms of choosing who gets an imaging investigation and who doesn't. Your doctor suspected you had a PE based on signs/symptoms/blood tests and the radiologist agreed that on balance, the risk if you dying from that PE was greater than any radiation risk of a CT so they could justify exposing you to that radiation.

ah right - no, the CT I had years ago with dye(contrast) in my arm was for something else - I think it was digestion GERD , I couldnt go with the camera down the throat again (had already had it done before) had a panic attack so they done an ultrasound and a CT scan with contrast in my arm then.

in 2009 when I was sent in to A&E by GP (trainee) who suspected I had PE , they just did a standard chest x-ray (standing up and chest pushed against the thing) and then about half hour later came into cubicle in A&E and said they found 2 clots heading for my lungs - I specifically remember having this huge pressure on my chest like someone was kneeling on it and right out of breath and having to 'straddle' this thing up against my chest , and it was just a normal chest x-ray without contrast/dye and this radiographer telling me to keep as still as possible

CrabRevolution

Considering the waiting lists as it is, I think most will have died by the time they get their scan. It'd effectively be adding several million people to a waiting list.

You know those progress boxes on windows where it estimates how long it will take your file to transfer/download and sometimes it will say hours or days (especially on an old XP system or the likes)?

I'm picturing something similar, on your 40th birthday you get a letter saying to report to the Mater in 34 years time for your MRI scan.

Andy From Sligo

gosh, why have we come to this a massive waiting list for MRI scans. Yes I can understand a long wait for surgery (theaters waiting to become available and available surgeons to perform the operations) and maybe the results from scans taking some time to come through ... but an actual long waiting list for the actual MRI scan?? - if the MRI scan started at 8am in the morning and went off at 5.30pm in the evening you can surely fit quite a few MRI's in that time, I know they can take around 20mins or so each but ...

Marcusm

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

gosh, why have we come to this a massive waiting list for MRI scans. Yes I can understand a long wait for surgery (theaters waiting to become available and available surgeons to perform the operations) and maybe the results from scans taking some time to come through ... but an actual long waiting list for the actual MRI scan?? - if the MRI scan started at 8am in the morning and went off at 5.30pm in the evening you can surely fit quite a few MRI's in that time, I know they can take around 20mins or so each but ...

Add up all the times here for each body component; even if you ran them back to back, your full body MRI would take up 7 hours per person at the lower end of estimates (and no human could stand it for 7 hours).

http://www.advancedimagingofmt.com/index.php?page=mri-faq

Andy From Sligo

Marcusm wrote: »

Add up all the times here for each body component; even if you ran them back to back, your full body MRI would take up 7 hours per person at the lower end of estimates (and no human could stand it for 7 hours).

http://www.advancedimagingofmt.com/index.php?page=mri-faq

but i didnt say full body scan, now that would be extensive and time consuming - I said brain/lung and heart - three important organs of the body, and maybe, just maybe some early diagnostics of them organs could save lives - or give a better quality of life for some if something showed up

_Dara_

Marcusm wrote: »

Add up all the times here for each body component; even if you ran them back to back, your full body MRI would take up 7 hours per person at the lower end of estimates (and no human could stand it for 7 hours).

http://www.advancedimagingofmt.com/index.php?page=mri-faq

A very good point. I've have two MRIs in my life. Both highly unpleasant experiences. Both were around 45 minutes and it was hell. And I needed them. You would have a very hard time convincing people to have them when there is not suspected to be anything wrong with them.

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

but i didnt say full body scan, now that would be extensive and time consuming - I said brain/lung and heart - three important organs of the body, and maybe, just maybe some early diagnostics of them organs could save lives - or give a better quality of life for some if something showed up

Even focusing on those part would take well over an hour.

Andy From Sligo

granted they are not nice if you suffer from claustrophobia and dont like tight spaces and keeping dead still whilst its being carried out , and they make a hell of a racket - they normally give you some headphones with piped music to put on

FanadMan

Ridiculous idea to say the least! A few years back I had to be admitted to hospital to get an MRI because the waiting list in out patients was so long. And subsequent scans had to be booked minimum of six months in advance. To offer scans to everyone over 40 (bound to be over 100,000 people) when there are people needing them for serious reasons is pointless!

_Dara_

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

granted they are not nice if you suffer from claustrophobia and dont like tight spaces and keeping dead still whilst its being carried out , and they make a hell of a racket - they normally give you some headphones with piped music to put on

They do indeed - they do little to make the experience more pleasant. The noise of the machine still overrides the music.

Andy From Sligo

_Dara_ wrote: »

They do indeed - they do little to make the experience more pleasant. The noise of the machine still overrides the music.

Oh I agree there. I wonder if the newer type ones are better/less noisier

2009 I had one on my lower back. , Didn't look like the most modern up to date one. Think I was in there for ten minutes (although it felt much longer) music was on, and then stopped for the rest of the time I just heard it banging!

FanadMan

_Dara_ wrote: »

They do indeed - they do little to make the experience more pleasant. The noise of the machine still overrides the music.

I've never had piped music on any I've had (over 10 of them). Was actually able to doze off a few times due to the noise being so repetitive.

coffeepls

Hi Andy from Sligo - thought I’d just give my 2 cent worth. I had an MRI about 2 weeks ago. It was covered by my health insurance in the hospital I had it in, not all hospitals were ‘covered’ by my policy, so I did happen to find out the actual price of it in a non-covered hospital.

So - you did want to know. The total price depends on the amount of locations in the body the MRI is being done for. So if it was a head MRI, that’s one location. If you wanted an MRI done on abdo-spine, that’s another location. Each location has a price tag ranging from 375ish to 450 euros. Cardiac MRIs are not done by all hospitals, so I’m guessing that’s specialist & has another price tag. While I was waiting, I spoke to a lady who had travelled all the way from Sligo for a cardiac MRI. So maybe there wasn’t a more convenient location near to her home.

Who in their right mind would want an MRI for the craic. I’m not claustrophobic, but it is a godawful noisy lengthly procedure. Even if you have music played into the earphones it’s still akin to having your head sitting in the centre of a big spin washing machine that someone has decided to wash a few bricks in. That’s the type of noise we are talking about.

You mentioned comparison to holby city & casualty. It is hilarious sometimes how fictional it is. Enjoyable fiction however. I can give you one example of something that always makes me laugh. It’s when they put in a chest drain. Well all I can say is that is top of my list of painful procedures - thankfully I haven’t suffered worse yet. They make it look as painless as putting in a canula - ha! I wish.

erica74

_Dara_ wrote: »

They do indeed - they do little to make the experience more pleasant. The noise of the machine still overrides the music.

And then some places don't have the radio tuned in properly so you have 30 minutes of sizzle and crackle.

My own experience with MRI's is that I always fall asleep in the machine, it's hot and the repetitive noise sends me right off. I've had at least 15 MRI's by now and plenty more to come and the cost is massive, at least €200 per body part and your back is not "one" body part. I spent over €1000 on MRI's last year.
Also, the waiting lists are the way they are because of the time it takes to do the MRI, emergency cases coming in and taking priority and PEOPLE NOT HAVING THE COURTESY TO SHOW UP FOR THEIR APPOINTMENT!! I cannot stress that last part enough. If someone is booked in for an MRI at 9am this morning and they DNA, there is very little the staff can do to get someone to fill that slot so that is a slot going to waste. That happens multiple times a day in every single facility that offers MRI's.
And, unfortunately, the waiting times are a lot longer than some people realise, in Waterford you may be waiting anything up to 3 years, maybe longer. Now, it does all depend on what level of priority has been placed on your order but 3 years is standard for people with non life threatening problems.

Rodin

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

gosh, why have we come to this a massive waiting list for MRI scans. Yes I can understand a long wait for surgery (theaters waiting to become available and available surgeons to perform the operations) and maybe the results from scans taking some time to come through ... but an actual long waiting list for the actual MRI scan?? - if the MRI scan started at 8am in the morning and went off at 5.30pm in the evening you can surely fit quite a few MRI's in that time, I know they can take around 20mins or so each but ...

You've no idea of the numbers who enter a radiological deparrment every day.... it's very large

AndrewJRenko

I wonder if the OP knows that there are teams of professional health economics experts in the HSE, our hospitals and our colleges who spend their days working out what kinds of health screening tests make financial sense?