All cancer patients finally granted access to key 3D scanner
Thursday, July 05, 2012
All cancer patients will be able to access vital, long-delayed treatment at a leading hospital after private health insurance holders were initially told their treatment would be blocked.
VHI Healthcare has confirmed it has agreed a deal with Alliance Medical to allow the insurer?s members to receive care from Cork University Hospital?s PET-CT scanner.
The multimillion-euro equipment ? which allows detailed 3D images to be taken of potential tumours in the body ? was the subject of a four-and-a-half year mothballing delay until it went online in May.
At the time of the move, which was only made possible because Alliance Medical agreed to run the equipment as the HSE recruitment embargo was continuing to cause delays, public patients were told they could access the service.
However, despite paying for health insurance, private patients were told they would be turned away to face ongoing journeys to Dublin, Waterford, and Galway for similar cancer care. This was because negotiations between VHI and Laya Healthcare had failed to reach an agreement.
At the start of June, Laya, Ireland?s second largest health insurer, agreed a deal to make the equipment, which is running two days a week, available to its patient base.
In a statement yesterday, a VHI spokesperson confirmed it too could guarantee access to the vital service on an outpatient basis.
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Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/ieireland/~3/FNaWnBSXAjE/
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