CT SCAN COST IN GHANA
CT scan cost in Ghana is likely to depend on some factors, namely, the place or facility where one gets that scan done and the exact body part or area the scan was done.
Of course, if a person has some sort of health insurance or health plan or health cover – be it a public health insurance scheme like the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) or a private one – it is sure to impact on the CT scan cost if the health scheme covers such diagnostic services. Before we throw out some figures about likely CT scan cost in Ghana however, let us see what the CT scan is and just how critical it is as a diagnostic instrument in quality healthcare delivery so it is appreciated why CT scan cost in Ghana is worth discussing.
CT SCAN: WHAT IS IT; WHAT CAN IT DO?
In the diagnostic world, no one can doubt the impact the CT scan has had in the evolutionary journey of the history of medicine and how it has greatly contributed to an unparalleled advancement in the diagnosis of various ailments. The computed axial tomography scan (CAT scan) also known as CT scan has earned its place, no doubt, as it combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angels around the body and uses computer processing to create cross sectional images (slices) of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body. CT scan images provide more detailed information than plain X-rays do. Let us break this down a bit further, shall we?
When people are injured or sick and so seek relief through medical intervention, medical doctors and health practitioners may need to understand what is going on inside their bodies (without cutting into the body) to better understand the factors contributing to the predicament of their patients and so guide the medical professionals to better administer appropriate healthcare interventions for patient’s recovery and wellbeing. Thanks to the advancement of mankind and technological strides being made in modern medicine, machines have been and are being made to give doctors a better view of what is going on inside the human body. CT scan is an example of such machines. As earlier mentioned, it is an upgrade of what an X-ray machine does. Regular X-rays show bones and some other parts of the body but the CT scan can show much more detail.
A CT scan is painless and quick and can be used to visualize nearly all parts of the body. It is used to diagnose disease or injury as well as to plan medical, surgical or radiation treatment. A doctor may recommend a CT scan to help to detect bone and joint problems (eg. complex bone fractures and tumors) as well as internal bleeding or injuries resulting from car accidents or other kind of trauma. Conditions like cancer, heart and liver diseases, etc. can be quickly and better examined using the CT scan.
EXPENDING ON CT SCAN
CT scan cost in Ghana is affected by the facility a person chooses to get checked up in – be they public health diagnostic centers or private health diagnostic centers – as surely as society is stratified. “The fingers,” it’s said, “are not equal”, so different people have different earning power and so can afford different diagnostic services. The public facilities are more often believed to cost less while the private facilities are considered to be more costly.
And yes, the presence or absence of a health insurance scheme (that covers for diagnostic services including CT scan) has an impact on CT scan cost in Ghana. Hence persons who wish to perform CT scan would sooner or later discover that these factors (perhaps more than enumerated here) would play a role or more in determining the CT scan cost they would incur.
IN CLOSING…
The invention of the computed axial tomography scan, otherwise known as, CT scan by Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield (1919 – 2004) who was a biomedical engineer aided greatly towards the diagnosis of neurological and other disorders. For his efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1979. Introducing the machine for use at the Atkinson Morley’s Hospital in Wimbledon in 1971 he continued to fine tune the value of the apparatus and was first tested on a preserved human brain and then on a fresh cow brain brought from a butchery. Finally, he would choose himself as the first living human experiment participant. The original name of this scan was an EMI scan, named after the company – Electrical and Musical Industry (EMI) Limited – that created the technology. If ever you walk into a facility to do a CT scan, irrespective of the cost, think kindly on the man who birthed it into our world.
REFERENCES
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
