Your physician has ordered a series of radiology procedures. Your physician gives you a prescription for the examinations and a list of radiology facilities in your area. Which one to choose and why?
Important questions to ask
Facility — Is the facility accredited by the American College of Radiology for all modalities?
Access to services — Can all the procedures be performed by the same group? Are the hours of the facility patient friendly? Does the facility have evening hours as well as Saturday appointments? Does the facility participate with most insurance companies?
Radiologist credentials — Are the radiologists board-certified? Do the radiologists have subspecialties and extensive experience? Are the radiologists available for consultation at any time with my referring physician?
Brian Myers, technician, and Kim Titus, assistant, prepare a patient for a heart scan at Freehold Radiology Group. Qualified technical staff — Is the technical staff certified in their specialties? Do they receive updated training in their specialty on an annual basis?
Turnaround time — Will the results of my procedure be at my physician’s office within 24-48 hours or less? Can I get my images easily if I need them?
When you call for an appointment, the scheduling staff should be friendly and knowledgeable. They should be able to accommodate your request for time and date of appointment. They should be able to give you all preparations that you need to be ready for your particular procedure. They should also have a basic knowledge of insurances so they can advise you about the proper paper work, referrals and/or precertifications you should bring to the office. You should be treated professionally, courteously and efficiently when you arrive for your procedure.
Procedures
The following is a list of the procedures that you can have performed in an outpatient radiology center:
CT Scan (Computerized Tomography Scan) — an advanced form of X-ray technology with computer imaging to produce a highly accurate internal picture of the head or a part of the body. It will detect, to a high level of detail, the presence of stroke, tumors, blood clots, enlarged ventricles, and other disorders within the head. Within the body, it can detect enlarged lymph nodes, pancreatic disorders, possibly cancerous growths, herniated discs, and many other disorders. A new screening procedure called Coronary Artery CTA (heart scan) is a noninvasive exam that evaluates plaque and stenosis in the coronary arteries.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) — a stateof the-art technology that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to show detailed pictures from within the body. Used most commonly to show the brain, spine and joints, this painless technique also helps to uncover tumors or other abnormalities within the body’s soft tissues and organs. A high field magnet provides optimum imaging quality while reducing scan time for patients.
Ultrasound — through a device called a transducer, ultrasound technology emits high frequency sound waves that bounce off the body’s tissue or organs to create a visual image from the resulting echoes. The transducer is coated with a water soluble gel, and then gently dragged over the surface of the areas to be viewed. Ultrasound is used to help assess fetal growth and development, abdominal ailments, pelvic and vascular problems.
Digital mammography — advanced imaging technology to accurately track breast health. Digital mammography uses computers and specially designed digital detectors to produce an image that can be displayed on a high-resolution monitor. With digital mammography the radiologist reviews electronic images of the breast. The radiologist can adjust the brightness, change contrast, and zoom in for close-ups of specific areas of interest. Being able to manipulate the images is just one of the benefits of digital mammography. During the mammography exam the technologist positions the patient to image the breast from different angles and compresses the breast with a paddle to obtain optimal image quality. This procedure only takes a few minutes. An aid to the radiologist is a computerized aided detection system (CAD). This device essentially acts as a second pair of eyes. Any suspicious areas are marked on the computer screen for a radiologist to review in combination with their visual viewing of the mammogram. Digital mammography is the latest advancement in breast health imaging.
Bone density — imaging procedure to determine if there is bone loss (osteopenia or osteoporosis)
PET/CT SCAN (Positron Emission Tomography Scan) — this procedure is a nuclear medicine body scanning technique that can visualize metabolically active tissues. This procedure is used in staging or restaging of cancer.
Diagnostic studies — This would encompass the basic radiographic procedures, fluoroscopy (upper GI series, small bowel, barium enema) and intravenous pyleogram (IP).
Pick a facility that provides a full range of services and strives for excellence in medical imaging.