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Saskatchewan’s use of private MRI scans is not reducing wait lists for the service, according to the provincial auditor.

Wait times for MRIs actually went up slightly from March 2016 to the end of December, says Judy Ferguson, who tabled volume 1 of her 2017 report Tuesday.

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“It hasn’t decreased the wait list, but it’s early stages,” she said, noting the one-for-one model had only been in place nine months before the audit for her annual report was done.

Ferguson also says it is taking up resources of the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) to manage MRIs, because private sector scan information is often entered manually.

The province’s law allows for-profit clinics to charge people for MRI scans if those clinics also provide a scan to someone on the public waiting list.

RQHR runs two MRI machines and contracts two private MRI operators to provide 5,560 scans annually.

It’s goal is to serve 15,500 MRI patients a year, but in 2016 only served 11,981 patients.