OBTAINING A SPECT BRAIN PERFUSION SCAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
For BC Residents
There is currently no charge for SPECT Brain Perfusion Studies for BC Residents with coverage under the BC Medical Services Plan.
BC residents with MSP should be seen in consultation by a BC Neurologist, Psychiatrist, or Family Physician specializing in psychiatric disorders.
Their neurologist, psychiatrist or family physician would be able to then order a brain perfusion SPECT study at any BC hospital with a nuclear medicine department, which is most major hospitals in British Columbia.
However, apart from Alzheimer’s disease, the study is infrequently performed at most departments, and the two hospitals doing the majority of brain perfusion SPECT currently are the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver and the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and the Vernon Jubilee Hospital in Vernon BC.
For Non-BC Residents
Patients desiring a brain perfusion SPECT study from outside BC will be charged a fee for the scan, currently about $1,500 Canadian dollars.
Many BC hospitals are not equipped to handle non-BC patients in terms of billing.
Non-BC residents do not need a specialist referral, but should check with the hospital at which they may wish to arrange a SPECT study to see if they do scans for indications other than dementia, and what the billing practices are in the respective hospitals.
Lions Gate Hospital Nuclear Medicine Department phone number: 604-984-5780
British Columbia
OBTAINING A SPECT BRAIN PERFUSION SCAN IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
For BC Residents
There is currently no charge for SPECT Brain Perfusion Studies for BC Residents with coverage under the BC Medical Services Plan.
BC residents with MSP should be seen in consultation by a BC Neurologist, Psychiatrist, or Family Physician specializing in psychiatric disorders.
Their neurologist, psychiatrist or family physician would be able to then order a brain perfusion SPECT study at any BC hospital with a nuclear medicine department, which is most major hospitals in British Columbia.
However, apart from Alzheimer’s disease, the study is infrequently performed at most departments, and the two hospitals doing the majority of brain perfusion SPECT currently are the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver and the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and the Vernon Jubilee Hospital in Vernon BC.
For Non-BC Residents
Patients desiring a brain perfusion SPECT study from outside BC will be charged a fee for the scan, currently about $1,500 Canadian dollars.
Many BC hospitals are not equipped to handle non-BC patients in terms of billing.
Non-BC residents do not need a specialist referral, but should check with the hospital at which they may wish to arrange a SPECT study to see if they do scans for indications other than dementia, and what the billing practices are in the respective hospitals.
Lions Gate Hospital Nuclear Medicine Department phone number: 604-984-5780