Why are GPs being told to ration cancer scans?

[Djones]

Quote:By Jessica Laurence, Sep 8, 2011
Why are GPs being told to ration cancer scans?

When it comes to cancer, you might think getting a scan to determine the problem is one step where speed is of the essence.

According to GP Newspaper, who carried out a Freedom of Information request, over a quarter of primary care trusts want GPs to limit the number of patients they send for MRI, CT and other scans.

The newspaper said some trusts were already telling practices to cut down on scans and restricting their access to them, by making GPs refer patients to a consultant first before they were allowed a scan.

They found that NHS South West Essex saved £100,000 in 2010-11 by stopping GPs being able to directly refer patients for MRI and CT scans.

BMA GP committee negotiator Dr Chaand Nagpaul told GP newspaper: "It is simplistic and misguided just to focus on costs. An intelligent approach would be to have guidelines for appropriate use of diagnostics and incorporate them into the pathway."

Royal College of General Practitioners chairwoman Dr Clare Gerada said: "How can a junior doctor in a hospital refer for an ultrasound, but I - with 25 years' experience - have to refer a patient to a specialist?"

"This is about money and finances driving behaviour by the PCT - not about putting patients first," she said. "We cannot move towards PCTs acting as though they are in the consultation room."

http://lifestyle.aol.co.uk/2011/09/08/wh...lnk3|77039

[Dunamis]

And of course one side affect is simply going to be that people don't pick up that they have cancer. Maybe the UK population are getting to good at clicking on to the medical establishments propaganda and big pharma's greed and using "alternative" methods too much after being diagnosed...

...it reeks of depopulation to me though.

[yeti]

Dr. Chaand Nagpaul Wrote:It is simplistic and misguided just to focus on costs.

It's also criminal, not to mention morally repugnant!

[nwo2012]

Bear in mind that CT scans, due to the high level of radiation emitted, will also cause cancers. Yes it is a fine balance between use and overuse. But yes it is true in the UK they are hard to come by. I have been on the receiving end if misdiagnosis, for a pectoral rupture, in the UK because they refused to offer me anything more than a plain XRay.

Whereas here in Oz, as in the US, scans are very overused. Many of the patients on this ward receive 2-5 CT scans per week! Hello new cancers........

[Djones]

Very true Yeti.
I agree nwo2012, these scans can cause cancer when over used, but they are needed to help detect that the cancer is there. Otherwise it will go undetected for a much longer period of time. This short or long amount of time could mean the difference between the cancer being "operable" or "inoperable". Meaning life or death for the person.