THE vital signs are good at Epworth Geelong, with the Waurn Ponds private hospital succeeding in its efforts to secure a Medicare licence for its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.<\/p>\n
The federal government has committed to funding 30 new MRI licences, and Epworth began its campaign to get one of them in September.<\/p>\n
The licence will come into effect on March 1, and Epworth chief executive Damien Armour said last week\u2019s announcement by Corangamite federal member Sarah Henderson was a very significant day for the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more so for the patients and the specialists, because we take away the financial conversation that happens in the rooms. Now they can just focus on providing great patient care, and the anxiety about other things is taken out of the equation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that has prevented people from coming here is the cost factor \u2013 they\u2019ve had to inconveniently go somewhere else \u2013 but they won\u2019t have to worry about that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the number of MRIs was estimated to grow by 50 per cent in the first year, from 2,500 scans to close to 4,000 scans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a growing region. We will service a catchment of 330,000 patients with Colac as well, growing at pretty much the fastest anywhere in Australia, and to have another accessible Medicare rebate-eligible MRI is going to take a lot of waiting time and anxiety away from a lot of people in this region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Henderson said the first 10 MRI licences under the federal government\u2019s commitment were announced late last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went and had a very severe chat to the Health Minister, Greg Hunt, and needless to say, I made it very clear that Epworth had a very strong case and Epworth could not be forgotten in the next 20 to be announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a community campaign, and together we\u2019ve achieved a great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE vital signs are good at Epworth Geelong, with the Waurn Ponds private hospital succeeding in its efforts to secure a Medicare licence for its magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The federal government has committed to funding 30 new MRI licences, and Epworth began its campaign to get one of them in September. The licence […]<\/p>\n