In its meeting on Monday, the state target control commission decided to apply for three further MR devices (magnetic resonance imaging) for Upper Austria to be included in the large-scale device plan of the Austrian Health Structure Plan (ÖSG). One of these devices is intended for the Freistadt Clinic.
MRI scans
Unlike computed tomography, for example, X-rays are not used to generate MRI images, but magnetic field and radio waves. This enables recordings of the human body, which are very difficult to achieve with other methods. Skull examinations, the diagnosis of a stroke, the examination of vessels, internal organs or the musculoskeletal system are typical areas of application for modern magnetic resonance devices.
“We are very pleased with this decision by the State Target Control Commission. It gives us the opportunity to fulfill our regional healthcare mandate even better and to be able to offer patients access to cutting-edge medicine close to where they live in this area as well,” commented the chairman of OÖ Gesundheitsholding, Franz Harnoncourt, on this step in the MRT planning for Upper Austria .
After today’s decision in the State Target Control Commission, the next step is to submit an application to the Federal Target Control Commission to change the ÖSG large-scale equipment plan. At the same time, the structural preparations for the are being made in the clinic. Commissioning would take place in 2025 due to the complex approval schedule.
The clinic hopes that having its own MRI device will allow for faster processing of the examinations and thus even faster treatment of the patients. “It is an important step in order to be able to carry out MRI examinations as soon as possible in the Freistadt Clinic as an acute admission hospital. An MRI is needed in all of our departments and modern medicine would be unthinkable without it – that’s why we have been campaigning for it for years,” commented the medical director of the Freistadt Clinic, Norbert Fritsch, the primary caregiver. Around 9,500 inpatients and 90,000 outpatients are cared for at the Freistadt Clinic every year.
Source: Nachrichten
