For Patients

In most cases, yes, an order from your physician, physician assistant (PA), chiropractor or nurse practitioner (NP) will be required for your imaging test. There are several exceptions. Women may schedule a mammogram appointment on their own, without a doctor’s referral. Additionally, low-dose CT lung screenings, calcium score heart scans, and ultrasound screenings of the carotid arteries or abdominal aorta can be self-referred by patients.

In most cases, you will need to make an appointment prior to your imaging test. We will work with you, your doctor and your insurance company to obtain pre-authorization for your test in advance of your appointment. The only exception are walk-in X-ray services, which we will do our best to accommodate in a timely fashion.

To save time, we encourage you to fill out each of the forms above, print them, and bring them to your appointment. Otherwise, you can fill them out when you visit our center. Please bring your ID and insurance card.

Many imaging tests do not require special preparation, but we will inform you in advance if a test you are having requires you to refrain from eating or drinking before your test, stop taking specific medications, etc. If you are having an MRI at our center, please do not wear any jewelry or have any metal of any kind on you during your scan.

If you have insurance, you may be responsible for a copay, coinsurance or deductible payment at the time of your imaging test. If you are uninsured, payment is required at the time of your appointment.

Uninsured patients will find our cash pay prices to be among the most competitive in the region.

A contrast is a substance taken by mouth or injected intravenously to improve the ability of certain body structures during an imaging test. It is not required for all imaging tests, but if yours requires one, you will be notified in advance. Please notify us if you have had a allergic reaction to contrast during a previous imaging test.

For tests that require x-rays, such as x-ray, CT, mammography and DEXA imaging, you will be exposed to a small amount of ionizing radiation. The amount of exposure depends on the test you are having, but modern imaging equipment such as that used at Parker County Imaging is considered to be very safe. In addition, our technologists adhere to ALARA principles (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) to ensure the lowest possible radiation dose required to obtain quality images is used.

All of the state-of-the-art imaging equipment used at Parker County Imaging is designed for patient comfort and is not confining or uncomfortable. Even our MRI is an “open bore” system which ensures that most of the time, the majority of the patient’s body is outside of the scanner. Older MRI systems were more tube-like and could make patients feel confined, but we do not use such a system at our center.

Your test results will be available to your and your doctor within 48 hours of the completion of your test. Results are available in our 24x7x365 patient portal, which you can access with any web-enabled browser. If needed, we can email or fax your test results to a doctor of your choosing.