The process of visiting healthcare providers has become complicated as a result of many insurance and payor requirements. In addition, many radiology procedures involve specific preparation and/or precautionary procedures. To simplify the process and minimize the amount of time required for your visit, R.I.A. wishes to inform and advise you of the following important preparation and policy information.

In Advance of Your Visit – Many radiologic exams require preparation in advance of your visit. Some of these preparation instructions and requirements are provided here for your information and reference.

Items You Must Bring – You must have the following items with you at the time of your visit. Failure to bring these items with you may result in a need to reschedule your imaging procedure.

• Written referral order(s) from your physician. We must have the signed referral order and/or the authorization form required by your insurance company at the time of your visit.
• Your insurance card and any copayment due so that we may submit your insurance claim on your behalf.
• Workers’ compensation claim or automobile insurance information, if relevant.
• All related imaging studies performed elsewhere that relate to your visit. For example, prior mammograms (very important), M.R.I.s, x-rays, C.T.s, sonograms, or other imaging studies. These films and reports allow our radiologist to make comparisons that are necessary for the best interpretation of the new studies.
• The name and address of any other physician who should receive the report of your imaging examination.

X-Rays and Pregnancy – For women of child bearing age(12-50), all x-ray and CT exams of the abdomen, pelvis and proximal femurs, and all Nuclear Medicine exams are to be scheduled between day one and day fourteen following the start of the menstrual cycle, unless the chance of pregnancy can be excluded, i.e., hysterectomy, tubal ligation, use of birthcontrol pills, or other birth control devices.

Preparation Instructions – Many imaging examinations require specific preparation prior to arrival at our Center. Please follow instructions carefully in order to ensure that your imaging study may be performed as scheduled. An instruction pamphlet is available through our office or at your physician's office, or you may contact us by phone.

Scheduled Appointment Times - We make every effort to honor scheduled appointment times. Therefore, it is important that you arrive at our Center on time. Failure to do so may result in the need to reschedule your radiological study. To help us avoid service delays, please arrive at your scheduled appointment time, or call in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment.

Childcare During Testing – Unfortunately, we cannot routinely supervise your children during your imaging study. We believe that you are best served when we can provide 100% of our attention to you. Therefore, we encourage you to make childcare arrangements or to bring a responsible person with you to supervise your children.

Reporting of Imaging Results – At the time of registration, please indicate to whom we should send the results of your study, and please ensure that we know how rapidly your physician needs your results. Our goal is to make your results available to your physician within 24 hours. Occasionally, more than 24 hours is necessary for our specialty-trained radiologists to interpret various imaging examinations.

Film Checkout – Original films may be borrowed as needed. If you need to borrow your films, please let the technologist know before starting your examination, or at least 24 hours in advance of the time when you would like to pick-up your films. This allows us the time to prepare the records and/or to retrieve them from our storage facility.

R.I.A. staff members strive to make your visit as comfortable and productive as possible. Please feel free to ask any questions and let us know how we may better serve your imaging needs.