The Toronto Star   Jul. 10, 2001, 02:00 EDT

B.C. company offers medical test for a price

$2,500 scan is popular with cancer patients

Vanessa Lu
HEALTH POLICY REPORTER

A Vancouver company is planning to offer a specialized high-tech medical test to patients in Toronto who are willing to pay $2,500 per scan.

International PET Diagnostics Inc. has been offering positron emission tomography or PET scans in its Vancouver office since last October and hopes to expand east to Toronto, Montreal and Calgary within a year.

John Smith, the company's executive vice-president, said discussions have been underway with doctors and government authorities about starting up in Toronto. "The response has certainly been very cordial and that encourages us," he said.

While the Canada Health Act has strict restrictions banning private companies from offering medically necessary health-care services, PET scans fall under a loophole because they are not considered "medically necessary services" and are not a standard diagnostic tool, said Health Canada spokesperson Tara Madigan.

Smith said demand for PET scans is rising steadily, and last month the Vancouver office had nearly 60 cancer patients. "It's the best technology for early detection and management of cancer," he said, adding patients have traveled from as far away as Newfoundland. "Patients appear very prepared to pay for it."

The technology can create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images that reflect biochemical processes and blood flow. By contrast, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans produce images based on anatomy.

Toronto's Dr. Andreas Laupacis cautions that studies have shown the PET scans are effective in only certain cases, including cancers such as lung, melanoma or lymphoma. Laupacis, president and chief executive officer of the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, was the lead author on a recent study on PET scanning and whether Ontario should pay for such testing.

"We were convinced that, in a number of selected cancers, the PET scan did provide information that was superior to existing diagnostic tests," he said.

Laupacis favours introducing PET scanners in carefully selected facilities to allow for ongoing monitoring of use and outcomes. The health ministry has not made a decision yet.

Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved.