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Thread: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

  1. #1
    Stegodon
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    Default How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    So, the headaches have been getting bad. In fact, I've begun referring to it as The Headache, as it returns promptly around 11 a.m. and shows up any time the pain pills wear off. Since it's either remain in a drugged stupor or try to find a root cause for The Headache, I will be getting an MRI, possibly as early as tomorrow.

    If I could have had a recreational MRI done, I'd have gotten it long before now. Turns out, this is my first real chance to plumb my inner depths. I really, really, really want a copy of the MRI when it's done. I assume it'll be in some form of computer file.

    Do I just ask the radiologist? Is a bribe de rigeur? Should I be prepared for resistance? Is there a magic word? Please inform me.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  2. #2
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    I work for a radiology clinic. We sell a CD containing the MRI images for about 10 bucks, if a patient wants one (for instance, they're moving out of state and they want to take the MRI to a different doctor). I assume your clinic does something similar, though prices may vary.

    CDs are much cheaper than getting an actual film copy of your images. Heck, we used to have to return films ... some clinics nowadays, instead of requesting the film be returned, just burn a CD copy and say "destroy it when you're done, keep it, burn it, whatever."

  3. #3
    Elephant TheFlame's avatar
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    When I was at uni I took part in a research project involving MRI. Getting a copy on CD was part of my conditions for being a volunteer. However, it may be different if you're going in as a patient rather than a subject.
    I didn't make the world this way, it was like this when I got here

  4. #4
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    This appears much simpler than I expected. Yay!
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  5. #5
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Last time I got an MRI (I've had two in the past two years), I had to hand carry the film from the MRI place to my doc. He didn't want to store them, and I was responsible for storing the hard copies. I still have them, and it didn't cost me any extra out of pocket. They sent the digital versions to the MRI-reader-dude (technical term) for the report, which was then emailed to my doc.

  6. #6
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    MRI-reader-dude = radiologist

    [sub:2hg4t3ns]Sometimes people call our office and say, "Radiologist? I don't remember getting any radiation. Marge? Did I get radiation for my hip?"[/sub:2hg4t3ns]

  7. #7
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Yes, just spring for the CD. Then you can amuse your loved ones with sagittal sections. That's what we do for fun in my house, anyway-"Ooh, look, honey, what shapely ventricles you have!" Bonus: You'll get to see whether your sinuses are symmetrical.
    I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.

  8. #8
    Elephant
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    I've got my neck films. Now, when I get cranky because my neck hurts, all I have to do is point to why it hurts.
    There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. -- Ray Bradbury's "Coda"

  9. #9
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Which way is saggital? From nose to back of head or from ear to ear?

    Also, since I finally have the referral in my hot little hands and will be scheduling it tomorrow, what can I do to make myself more comfortable?

    Is there anyway they can give me ear plugs or earmuffs? Sound is a big migraine trigger for me, and I understand MRIs are very loud.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  10. #10
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Nose to back of head, typically from underneath (thus the right side of your head will be depicted on the left of the image) I don't know about noise--I'd check with the clinic. I know you want to know what's going on, but will hope they don't find anything out of the ordinary.
    I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.

  11. #11
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Quote Originally posted by Fish
    MRI-reader-dude = radiologist

    [sub:ftjop51d]Sometimes people call our office and say, "Radiologist? I don't remember getting any radiation. Marge? Did I get radiation for my hip?"[/sub:ftjop51d]
    I know, I just need to start being more clear when I'm typing-while-sober that I'm being a jackass. Also, it'd help others who might not know, thanks.

  12. #12
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Well, I mention it also because the person who reads the MRI isn't necessarily the person in the room taking the pictures. That's usually a radiology technician of some stripe, telling you to strip, to place your anatomy against cold metal, and inserting the ultrasound probe into awkward places.

    [sub:1xzwotqf]Hopefully there aren't people in the room taking naked pictures of you that aren't hospital employees.[/sub:1xzwotqf]

  13. #13
    Member
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    Also, since I finally have the referral in my hot little hands and will be scheduling it tomorrow, what can I do to make myself more comfortable?

    Is there anyway they can give me ear plugs or earmuffs? Sound is a big migraine trigger for me, and I understand MRIs are very loud.
    Hopefully by now, you've found that most MRI suites have earplugs, and will often give you a pair before you even think to ask for them.

    The last MRI I had done, there was a box on the order sheet that said something like "Films with Pt." meaning the patient was supposed to be given a set of images. Easy-peasy to put an X in the box. I now have a full set of paper prints (no more film) and a CD of the images.

    The CD is cool - It's got all of the images and then some - there's an option to make a 3D model from a given "study" so I can spin my spine around on screen. It also gives the option to export images to JPEG.

  14. #14
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    That's what I want! Like they show on the iPhone commercial when they're bragging about all their apps. I want to touch a button and see the inside of my head morph from one ear to another!

    Ah, technology.

    Called today to schedule the appointment. Apparently, my doctor gave me the referral but didn't tell the MRI clinic anything about it, so they called the doctor's office to get a fax of the referral. This, apparently, takes all day. So, tomorrow I will go there in person and show them my referral and say "I want a copy of my MRI!"
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  15. #15
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    This is a recommendation from a medical billing person:

    Call Your Insurance And Make Sure They Know.

    Since you're likely going to end up signing some kind of waiver to the effect of "I agree to pay a bundle of cash if my insurance chickens out" then it's in your best interest to make absolutely, positively sure that

    a) there is a referral, preferably from a doctor who is contracted (is a preferred provider) with your insurance
    b) an authorization by your insurance
    c) that the authorization specifically says "yes, you can see Dr. X at ABC clinic on Friday."

    I think it's written into the insurance adjuster's handbook: always deny MRIs if there is any feasible excuse to do so.

  16. #16
    Oliphaunt dread pirate jimbo's avatar
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    I'd love to have my MRIs to look at if I ever get one. In the meantime, I'll just have to be content to look at my neck x-rays from a couple years ago which show very clearly the two little bone spurs on the left side of the C-6 nerve core that are messing up my neck and left hand. When I went in to get those x-rays done, they immediately gave me the CD with the images on it to hand off to my doc or chiropractor or whatever and I now have that CD sitting near my computer desk in the basement. Up here in Canada, the cost for this was free.
    Hell is other people.

  17. #17
    Go Phillies !! Cartooniverse's avatar
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    LOVE the CD idea. When I broke my back in 2000, I asked for films. Of everything. Sometimes the tech just ran dupes. ( In the case of normal X Ray films ). Sometimes, due to the cost and tracking of materials ( MRI machine films ), I had to pay as I went. Either way, it was important to own my OWN set of films.

    Proved invaluable time and again.
    If you want to kiss the sky, you'd better learn how to kneel.

  18. #18
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Quote Originally posted by Cartooniverse
    LOVE the CD idea. When I broke my back in 2000, I asked for films. Of everything. Sometimes the tech just ran dupes. ( In the case of normal X Ray films ). Sometimes, due to the cost and tracking of materials ( MRI machine films ), I had to pay as I went. Either way, it was important to own my OWN set of films.

    Proved invaluable time and again.
    CDs are great, but do remember that they're still just CDs. I had X-rays of my broken wrist done at the ER the day I broke it, and they gave me a CD to bring to my orthopedist. The orthopedist's office discovered the CD was unreadable because it was scratched. The ER had given it to me in a little baggie-type slipcover, so either it got scratched during insertion into the slipcover or at some point between the two visits - I didn't remove it from the cover at all, but it wasn't a closed container.

  19. #19
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Quote Originally posted by Fish
    This is a recommendation from a medical billing person:

    Call Your Insurance And Make Sure They Know.
    See, I was brilliant and simplified this by remaining unemployed, without insurance, and broke. The parents are helping with the upfront cost, and on the 27th, I have a meeting to determine if I'm eligible for the county medical services program, which would cover all the costs of treatment.

    The MRI's been set up for Monday. It's supposed to take all of 12 minutes. They promised me headphones to muffle the sounds, and I get to keep a copy of my films.

    Which leads me to another question:

    How do I scan MRI films? I tried scanning an X-Ray of my elbow last year after I broke it, and couldn't get a decent scan. Anyone manage it?
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  20. #20
    Member
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    How do I scan MRI films? I tried scanning an X-Ray of my elbow last year after I broke it, and couldn't get a decent scan. Anyone manage it?
    It's possible...but...

    Your options are:

    Take them to a "service bureau" (they cater to professional graphic artists) and have them run a drum scan. Drum scans are VERY expensive - expect to pay around $50-75 per image - once you find someone that has a drum scanner large enough to hold a full sheet of xray film.

    Find a photographer who has a darkroom that can make a contact print of the film. Photographic contact prints will probably be a bit murky, but you can at least slap those onto any cheap desktop scanner.

    Shell out about $500 for a desktop transparancy scanner and scan them yourself. The gotcha with these is you need something that can handle "large format" images - most home transparency scanners can only handle 35mm slides or strips of 35mm film.

    If you're willing to essentially destroy the film, send them to me and I can cut the individual images apart and run them through an Imacon "virtual drum" scanner at a cost of about $60 per hour. (My cost to rent time on the machine - much cheaper than buying a $15,000 scanner!) The problems here are that the original film is chopped into bits, and the maximum size the scanner can accept is 5x7 inches. Fortunately, most MRI images are smaller than that, but plain films such as your elbow xray, are much larger.

    As you can imagine, I was thrilled that my latest set of MRIs were printed directly onto photo paper, and that I got a CD of images that can be exported to JPEG by the viewer application.

  21. #21
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    Well, it all turned out okay, because when I was there yesterday, I asked the radiologist if I couldn't have an electronic copy. He burned the images to a CD for me. I now have evidence that I possess a brain.

    And what a brain it is! Actually, I have some questions about a couple of spots of asymmetry, which probably mean nothing but made my eyebrows go up. There's significantly less to my left hand cerebellum than the right, and the right occipital lobe has crowded over the midline.

    The MRI itself was actually kind of restful. Very nice earplugs. I almost dozed off. Came out of the tube feeling about two degrees off vertical plumb.

    The report should be done tomorrow, and I will call the clinic to set up a follow up appointment.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  22. #22
    Elephant
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    Default Re: How can I get a copy of my upcoming MRI?

    FYI, I doubt it would be acceptable for sending to a doctor, but I managed to get a pretty good scan of my dental xrays from film with a regular flatbed scanner by propping the lid up at a 45 degree angle and shining a light horizontally at it such that the lid reflected the light down at the scanner glass, then laying the xray on the glass.

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