Knesset panel seeks to expand use of MRI scans

When Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman took office, he committed himself to make MRI scans more accessible around the country.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
MRI machine [illustrative] (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
MRI machine [illustrative]
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
Agreement has been reached between Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman on regulations to make it easier to undergo magnetic resonance instrument (MRI) scans instead of the long queues that have existed until recently, especially in the periphery.
When Litzman took office, he committed himself to make MRI scans, which diagnose many conditions, more accessible around the country. Hospitals that lacked the scanners were given state funds to buy them, so that it would become unnecessary to travel long distances to undergo scans.
The Knesset Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee approved the guidelines on Monday. By the end of the reform, a total of 46 multi-million-dollar scanners will be functioning within two years. In addition, intensive efforts will be made to train professionals for using the machines in hospitals and even community health facilities.
Litzman praised the advances made in installing and activating more MRIs, adding that in the months since he started working on the problem, queues have already been reduced significantly.
Kahlon added that the committee’s approval will ease the suffering of patients, and that the government intends to do this in other fields of life.