The Wait Times Reduction Task Force's report suggests if the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority expanded hours for MRIs, the wait for the tests could be eliminated.

MRIs are used to analyze organs and tissues, and can play a vital role in diagnosing diseases like cancer, but depending on the hospital in Manitoba, a patient could wait up to eight months for a scan.

The report says since 2007 the number of patients on the wait list for an MRI increased 340 per cent in the province.

As of October 2017, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living reports the wait time for an MRI scan at Health Sciences Centre is 16 weeks. At the Grace Hospital it’s 35 weeks. The average wait in Manitoba is 22 weeks.

The report found if Manitoba had started operating machines within the WRHA 16 hours a day, seven days a week in June 2017, the wait time for a scan would be eliminated by May 2019.

Provincial health officials say some facilities already have extended hours and eliminating the wait is a recommendation the province should work towards.

"It will take a little bit of time, and train staff, et cetera, but that seems like a very logical recommendation to us,” said Shared Health CEO Dr. Brock Wright.

There are several other factors the report urges to be considered. It said there are 3,400 hundred no-shows every year, and an MRI is not always used to assess the appropriate medical condition.

"There are a number of areas where MRIs are very important. There are a number of areas as health care develops they are going to be increasingly important, but there are also a number of areas they are not value added," said Dr. Jack McPherson, co-chair of the Priority and Procedures Wait Times Reduction Committee.

The report did not recommend purchasing more MRIs.

McPherson said role of the private sector when it comes to providing MRI services could be studied.