UK National Health Service tries to cut the wait for MRI and CT

Citizens in the UK often endure long waits to get a nonurgent MRI or CT scan. Under a new policy, patients facing a wait of more than 20 weeks(!) will be offered the choice of having the scan done in a different hospital. Starting next April, patients with a wait of more than 16 weeks will be eligible for the program.According to AuntMinnie,

Long waiting times for imaging studies became an issue in the last general election in the U.K., which has been boosting its investment in medical imaging technology

Waiting periods like that must cut down on overuse of imaging, but must also discourage legitimate use.