Easing the route to new diagnostic technology

The UK private healthcare market is predicted to grow from more than £8.84 billion in 2016 to more than £10.6 bn by the end of 2025.1 Increasing life expectancy is driving the demand for the treatment of age-related conditions such as cancer, dementia and heart disease – while increasing global wealth is causing a surge in people’s ability to pay for all or part of their medical treatment.2 

 As part of this growth, the clinical demand for radiology services in England continues to rise. Between 2013 and 2016, both MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) scans saw an increase in use of more than 30% each.3 Much of this increase in demand in the private healthcare market and radiology services is being driven by patients opting to ‘self-pay’ for diagnostics tests (or radiology) and elective procedures, such as hip and knee replacements, rather than pay for ongoing health insurance, often as a result of growing NHS waiting lists for key diagnostics test and treatment.4 

Overall advancements in nuclear medicine imaging have led to improvements in the detection and identification of numerous diseases. These advantages, however, can only be realised if healthcare providers have access to the latest radiology equipment and technology.