A monthly liver screening clinic could be coming to Listowel more often.
About 370 patients have been able to take advantage of the portable liver scanning clinic since London Hepatologist Dr. Paul Marotta launched the service just over a year ago in partnership with the Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance.
"We were seeing a lot of people at my clinic in London that were obviously not only from London, but the surrounding area in particular this Listowel hub of Wingham and Kincardine, and Goderich, Owen Sound even," explained Marotta. "And we were sensing that a lot of individuals that were coming all the way to London found it was a time commitment. It's a half a day or a day off from work. They're a little nervous about the bigger city."
Marotta called the clinics a great success so far as 2024 patient volume continues to grow. He predicts nearly double the 2023 volume which would prompt them to move clinics to every two weeks.
"We see people who are very happy and very appreciative of my staff and myself travelling, so that they don't have to," he said. "The staff at the hospital is excellent as well. I mean, it's been a very good relationship so far."
The liver specialist warned that the scan can easily detect a liver issue that is a growing concern.
"Nowadays the most popular liver disease is this fatty liver condition. Thankfully, all these weight loss drugs have started to put that in the forefront, but people that have type two diabetes, or are overweight, typically have these abnormal liver numbers and what we're able to offer is a technology called the Fibroscan," he explained. "What is does in a non-invasive, five minute type of exam is it tells us how much liver damage or disease you may or may not have."
Marotta said about 25 per cent of the population may suffer from fatty liver disease, so it’s important to offer services that can be accessed by anyone. He added that he is seeing more patients from farther away attend the Listowel clinics.
"The cost of gas is going up. A couple hours in two directions so hours in the car for some people. That price of gas and parking at the hospital system is a number to be reckoned with. It just keeps going up," said Marotta. "And then I think there's a comfort level, right? You're in your own community or nearby. You know where you're going. You feel more comfortable, and not as nervous when you're in the doctor's office so to speak."
He predicted there could be a need to hold the clinics more often in the near future.
"So it's expanded to all those surrounding areas that I mentioned, and some more as a lot of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and clinics have sent individuals over," he added. "Almost 400 patients have been seen and it's been it's been an eye opener for me."
Marotta pointed out that bringing their portable technology closer to patients has reduced wait times
"I think if you're in the London hospital base here, the wait is one to one and a half years for something like this," he revealed. "We go seemingly about once every three to four weeks. And that fills a day and a half or full day for us. And that wait time would be basically that month."
Marotta said anyone who needs further treatment easily transitions to his care.
Dr. Marotta cautioned this procedure may not be fully covered by OHIP. In places like the GTA and in London, the fee is typically between $140 to $160. The fee for this clinic held locally is about $80 plus tax. Dr. Marotta said the cost is covered by most private insurance plans and very few patients have had to pay out of pocket.
Patients can be referred to one of these clinics by their primary care physician.