Medicare is failing to cover the real costs of some breast-cancer screening, forcing some women into private clinics
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A shortage of funding is affecting breast-cancer screening in B.C., says Dr. Paula Gordon, a radiologist and medical researcher specializing in breast cancer.
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Gordon, a clinical professor in the department of radiology at UBC, says there is a lack of radiology services in B.C. and a funding model that discourages radiologists from performing breast cancer screening.
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“The situation is only going to get worse.
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Sunrise
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“We’re finding loads of cancers at our clinic, doing ultrasound for women with dense breasts. But the fee they told us to use is not a screening fee, and it doesn’t cover the true overhead.”
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She said that means some clinics won’t offer the service.
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“Women are going to private clinics,” says Gordon. “They’re paying upwards of $750 for an ultrasound screening that the public system pays $115 to perform.”
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Gordon joined a Conversation That Matters about the quality of breast health care in B.C.
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Learn More about our guest’s career at careersthatmatter.ca
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