More than 140 radiologists from 4 hospitals and 2 clinics have come together in Gironde to acquire a latest generation MRI machine. An unprecedented partnership in France.
It is an unprecedented partnership in France. More than 140 Girondin radiologists from 4 public hospitals (Libourne, Arcachon, Langon, Lesparre) and 2 mutualist clinics have come together to acquire a latest generation magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. This public-private association is even a “first” in France, we learned this Tuesday during the official inauguration of the equipment.
At present, only one 3 Tesla MRI, an imaging system with high magnetic fields allowing more precise diagnoses, was available in the department, at the Bordeaux University Hospital, confided to theFrance Media Agency (AFP) Dr Jean-Christophe Sananes, radiologist in two clinics in the city and one of the initiators of the project.
“More generally, barely twenty of this type of device are used in France to date and a thousand in total in the world,” he added. To provide the department with a second device, these doctors joined together in 14 groups holding a total of 70% of an economic interest group (GIE).
Liberal doctors and solidarity hospitals
“Each group of practitioners, each hospital and clinic holds the same share, ie 5%,” Dr Sananes told AFP. This specialist does not hide his satisfaction. According to him, this project “shows that we can manage to collaborate between liberal doctors and hospitals”, whereas “on our own, we would not have succeeded”.
In terms of figures, the project received support from the Regional Health Agency (ARS). It cost 3 million euros, including 1.5 million euros for the acquisition of the device and 1.3 million euros for the building installed at the mutualist clinic of Pessac, selected for its ease of access from several points of the department.
For this project, the choice fell on a device never used in Europe, developed by the company Toshiba Medical France. At the same time, the initiators of the project preferred to “make appointments split up and close to patients”, via the various partners, to a common platform.
The first patients were received on October 3. “It’s going very well”, rejoices Dr. Jean-Christophe Sananes. And the idea is emulated, since the latter indicates that doctors from Poitiers (Vienne) and Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) have already expressed their interest in setting up a similar system.
One in two French people wait too long
As a reminder, significant disparities in medical imaging equipment exist in France. Recently, the Court of Auditors even worried about longer waiting times in certain territories.
According to a study, 30 days is the average time to obtain an MRI appointment in metropolitan France. But in the Auvergne, Center and Brittany regions, the situation is worse, with equipment rates among the lowest and waiting times among the highest (44.8 days, 41.6 and 39.6 days). The average delay weighted by the size of the population shows a difference of more than double (52.9 vs 21.5 days) between the 5 least equipped regions and the 5 best equipped regions.
The 2014-2019 Cancer Plan recommended a maximum of 20 days, and the previous Plan, 15 days. We are therefore very far from it …
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