As we focus on moving forward, it’s more important than ever to prioritize our long-term health and well-being. Even though we’ve all been laser-focused on preventing the spread of illness, other health concerns still need our care and attention.
If you postponed an imaging appointment, now is the time to schedule it again. With extra safety measures in place at all facilities, it’s the perfect time to schedule an appointment to get your imaging procedure.
Having a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is a simple procedure. But as a medically diagnostic tool, it involves many complex processes from start to finish. To help you get the most of your appointment, here are five things we want you to know before your appointment.
1. It’s Safe to Go to Your Appointment
We’re taking extra precautions to protect you and keep you safe in all of our facilities, including:
- Universal mask use for all team members, patients and visitors
- Social distancing measures, like spacing between chairs
- Separate waiting and treatment areas for anyone showing COVID-19 symptoms
- Enhanced sanitation measures to keep our offices clean and safe at all times
2. We Take Radiation Concerns Seriously
We understand some people are hesitant to get their imaging tests done because of exposure to radiation. We want you to know that we understand your concerns and take radiation very seriously.
Our advanced technology uses the lowest radiation doses possible, following the “as low as reasonably achievable,” or ALARA, guidelines. Our dedicated radiation physics team uses dose monitoring software on imaging technology to keep track of cumulative doses of radiation that every patient receives. Analysts give detailed reports and even alerts if doses are ever above recommended levels so that the team can investigate and correct it right away.
Before your scan, tell your physician and technologist if you have anything that could be metal in or on your body. For safety, metal must be kept away from the MRI machine.
Your surgical or earloop mask may have a metal strip in it, and the MRI team will remove it so that you can safely have your exam with your mask in place.
In addition to your mask, jewelry and wallets are other obvious things for technologists to catch. However, medical implants or devices within your body can’t be detected by the eye. If you tell your imaging technologist about any questionable metal objects in your body, they can take extra steps by contacting the radiologist to give the OK, if necessary.
3. We Want Your Imaging Appointment to Be Convenient
Since we understand you’re busy — and that it's hard to get to multiple appointments — we’ve created a network of care that strives to make diagnostic imaging more accessible than ever. With diagnostic imaging services across the state, including in your community, we’ve worked to deliver the convenience you need.
4. We Want You to Get Accurate Results, Fast
Waiting is hard, especially when you’re in pain or need advanced care. That’s why we work hard to get your results reviewed and to your physician quickly.
Getting your imaging test is only one piece of your treatment plan. Once your images are taken, you don't usually meet the radiologist, who is responsible for reading them and sending a report to your doctor. However, reading your images is a very important process behind the scenes.
After your scan or test, images are electronically sent to our radiologists through a very sophisticated, picture-archiving and communication system (PACS). Once the radiologists read it, the results are transcribed and sent to your physician. This usually happens within 24 to 48 hours, depending on the complexity of the images. Your doctor will then follow up with you about the results.
From start to finish, your care team works very hard to deliver your imaging results as fast and efficiently as possible.
5. We Want Your Care to Feel Connected
Our connected network of care means you won't have to deal with a lost referral or your imaging results not getting back to your care provider. Our imaging services are integrated into the entire AdventHealth network of all of our doctors, imaging centers, radiologists, labs, hospitals and specialists.
These experts and facilities are connected under one system before, during and after your care, and all avenues are connected between the services and medical teams you need from start to finish. To get started with the care you need, learn more about our imaging services.
