CMAJ • September 23, 2008; 179 (7). doi:10.1503/cmaj.081269.
© 2008 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association.
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NEWS

Briefly

Wayne Kondro

CMAJ

Diagnostic imaging: There's been significant growth in the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners in Canada over the past 4 years but the number of medical imaging professionals has remained relatively constant, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. There were 419 CT scanners and 222 MRI machines installed and operational in Canada in 2007, as compared to 325 and 149, respectively, in 2003. Despite the increases, Canada, at 12 CT scanners and 6 MRIs, still falls below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development medians (15 and 7) for imaging machines per million population, says the report (www.cihi.ca). The number of medical radiation technologists rose to 16 461 in 2006 from 15 289 in 2003.


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Revalidation: In a bid to raise the practice bar, the Chief Medical Officer for England Sir Liam Donaldson has unveiled a new regulatory system (www.dh.gov/uk) that will obligate the United Kingdom's 150 000 doctors to face mandatory annual competence tests in which they'll be assessed on such factors as prescribing habits, diagnostic skills and personal problems, like alcohol or drug abuse. Under the regime, senior doctors will be appointed in each region to assess the competence of general practitioners. Patients will also be consulted about that doctor's communication skills and willingness to involve them in decision-making about their treatment. The annual appraisals will serve as fodder for determining whether family doctors, hospital consultants and private practitioners are fit to practise when they apply for licence renewal every 5 years.

Shorter stays: Patients with mental illnesses admitted to a general hospital typically spent just 16.4 days in the facility in fiscal year 2005/06 before being discharged, as compared to 36.2 days in fiscal year 2000/01, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Reduced inpatient hospital use also held true for patients in psychiatric hospitals, according to the report (www.cihi.ca). Over the same time period, average length of stay in psychiatric hospitals (outside of Quebec, which is not included in the calculations because of a data quality problem) dropped to 100.3 from roughly 160 days.





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