Information
March 2003
Diagnostic and Medical Equipment Fund
What is diagnostic and medical equipment?
Diagnostic and medical equipment includes such high technology machines as Magnetic Resonance
Imagers (MRIs), computed tomography (CT) scanners, radiation therapy equipment and lithotripters.
It can also include other diagnostic and therapeutic equipment such as ultrasounds and
x-rays and medical and surgical equipment. Additional equipment that enhances the quality
of patient care or the working conditions of health care personnel, such as lifting devices,
could also be included in this category.
Why is this equipment important?
The availability of publicly-funded diagnostic care and treatment services is key to reducing
waiting times and ensuring access to quality care. Reduced waiting times for access to
diagnostic and medical equipment can lead to earlier detection, diagnosis and treatment.
Additional equipment will allow health care professionals to spend more time on diagnosis
and treatment and less on trying to locate equipment and appointments for their patients.
It will allow health care providers to better serve patients and may improve morale in
the workplace.
What will the Fund accomplish?
On February 5, 2003, Canada's First Ministers agreed to a new Health Care Action Plan
to improve access to quality care for all Canadians. For its part, the Government of Canada
will provide $34.8 billion over five years:
- to relieve immediate pressures on the health care system;
- for a new Health Reform Fund for primary care, home care and catastrophic drug coverage;
and,
- for the purchase of diagnostic and medical equipment, and investment in information
technology.
As part of this Action Plan, the $1.5 billion Diagnostic and Medical Equipment Fund will
allow governments to accelerate their efforts to acquire and install diagnostic and medical
equipment and support specialized staff training so that more Canadians will have improved
access to timely, publicly funded diagnostic services.
As the capacity of diagnostic and medical equipment varies across jurisdictions, provinces
and territories will have flexibility in how they use the fund to purchase equipment and
invest in training. While access to MRIs and CT scanners is important to early diagnosis
and treatment, Fund investments will not be limited to high technology equipment. Patient
care will also benefit from investments in other diagnostic and therapeutic equipment,
medical and surgical equipment and more basic equipment such as bed lifts.
Commencing in 2004, all governments will report to their citizens on an annual basis,
using comparable indicators, on enhancements to diagnostic and medical equipment and services.
This reporting will inform Canadians on progress achieved and key outcomes. It will also
inform Canadians on current programs and expenditures, providing a baseline against which
new investments can be tracked, as well as on service levels and outcomes. Governments
will work together to develop and refine relevant comparable indicators that enhance accountability
to Canadians.
Building on September 2000
This new Fund will build upon the momentum created by the $1 billion Medical Equipment
Fund announced at the September 2000 meeting of First Ministers. At that time, the Government
of Canada established a 2-year, $1 billion Fund to assist provinces and territories to
purchase and install equipment, according to their own priorities. Since then, the Fund
has contributed to the purchase of approximately 50 MRIs; 65 CT scanners, 33 nuclear medicine
cameras (used for cardiac and cancer diagnosis) and 17 linear accelerators (used for cancer
treatment). In addition, other equipment has been upgraded.
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