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While many hospital systems (although not all) have their own medical imaging departments, it’s still worthwhile for patients whose doctors recommend the procedure to go to a third party medical imaging center instead. Because these facilities focus entirely on medical imaging, they’re able to accommodate more patients and wait times are less than you’d find elsewhere. Plus, it’s often more affordable to work with an independent facility. However, you may be concerned about how quickly the center and your doctor can communicate when speed is of the essence for planning your treatment.
The Maximum Wait Time Is Low
When scheduling your high resolution ultrasound or other medical imaging procedure, ask about turnaround times for results getting to your doctor. The best facilities are able to provide results typically within 24 hours at maximum and if there’s some issue delaying that, you and your doctor will know as soon as possible so you can make other arrangements if need be. Since you can also typically schedule an appointment within one business day, you’ll likely find you get the results faster than you would while waiting to get in at your hospital’s medical imaging department.
The Minimum Wait Time is Unbeatable
In some cases, if your doctor requests expedited results ahead of time, independent facilities can provide your results to your doctor for full analysis in as little as one hour after your procedure. If time is of the essence, alert the facility upfront and they’ll do everything possible to accommodate you by scheduling your procedure in such a way that this minimum wait time is feasible for you.
Speaking with Your Doctor on the Phone
Even if you scheduled your imaging through the hospital facility, you typically wouldn’t be whisked away to your doctor’s office afterward to await your results. Your doctor or the doctor’s nurse will call you as soon as possible to relay instructions. Getting tested at an independent center doesn’t change this part of the process. With phone and digital communication, you won’t experience any delays by choosing to work with a third party.
Since there’s no delay in communication between the center and your doctor, there’s really no reason not to consider getting your imaging done at an independent center. Because of often shorter wait times, it may actually prove less of a wait before you can get the answers you need to move forward if you do go with a third party. Call a center to schedule an appointment today.