A rural CT scanner: evaluating the effect on local health care.
OBJECTIVE
The first small rural hospital in Ontario to propose a computed tomography (CT) scanner was in Walkerton, a town 160 km north of London. The Ontario Ministry of Health approved the proposal as a pilot project to evaluate the effect on local health care of a rural scanner. This evaluation study had 3 parts: a survey of physicians, a survey of patients, and an analysis of population CT scanning rates.


METHODS
The physicians in the area served by the scanner were asked about its impact on their care of their patients in a mailed questionnaire and in semistructured interviews. Scanner outpatients were given a questionnaire in which they rated the importance of its advantages. The analysis of scanning rates--the ratio of number of scans to estimated population--compared rates in the area with other Ontario rates before and after the scanner was introduced.


RESULTS
The physicians reported that local CT allowed them to diagnose and treat patients sooner, closer to home, and with greater confidence. On average, 75% of the patients ranked faster and closer access as very important. Scanning rates in the area rose, although they did not match urban rates.


CONCLUSIONS
The study confirms that the rural scanner changed the area's health care in significant ways and that it helped to narrow the gap between rural and urban service levels. We recommend that CT be expanded to other rural regions.
Merkens
Barbara J
BJ
Barbara Merkens and Associates, Don Mills, ON.
Mowbray
R Douglas
RD
Creeden
Larry
L
Engels
Paul T
PT
Rothwell
Deanna M
DM
Chan
Benjamin T B
BT
Tu
Karen
K
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009864:Ontario; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed