06/18/2025
We have a struggling medical system that is over burden with too many patients and too little resources to serve them well.
Yet, there are healthcare professionals that can help.
One example: Musculoskeletal injuries and imaging.
Chiropractors are trained to examine a patient and determine if and when imaging is required. In fact, in the current system we can order x-rays, ultrasound, and MRI. BUT the patient has to pay out of pocket for it.
In the current system, if the patient cannot or does not want to pay for their medical imaging, as stated in a recent CBC news article:
"We would do up a report, send it off to their primary health-care provider, the patient would then have to book an appointment with that provider, they'd have to wait a bit of time before they could get in, then get the requisition and then get the X-ray done." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-chiropractors-to-use-xrays-1.7557719
PEI has recently announced they will grant public funding for x-rays referred for by Chiropractors.
But they are not the only province to grant these privileges to Chiropractors.
In fact, Alberta has the most progressive system aimed to serving patients needs. In Alberta:
"Chiropractors can now refer patients for publicly funded diagnostic imaging, including X-rays, ultrasounds, and fluoroscopies. This change, effective in 2022, allows chiropractors to utilize their full scope of practice and supports patient access to necessary medical services under the AHCIP (Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan). Chiropractors can refer patients to accredited provincial imaging centers for general radiology, and these referrals are now covered by the AHCIP.
In fact Chiropractors in Alberta could do this long before 2022. This privilege was taken away temporarily by a newly elected government, but, after Medical Doctors, Chiropractors and the Public spoke out about the inefficiency caused by this back-step in patient-centred care, they brought the policy back... because it works, for everyone, including Medical Doctors who have a portion of their work-load distributed to an Allied Healthcare Professional.
After a long wait, chiropractors practising on Prince Edward Island are now able to order X-rays to help them diagnose and treat patients without having to go through a family doctor or nurse practitioner.