FAQs
Do I need a referral from a physician to schedule an MRI?
Yes. You do need to be referred by a physician. This is required whether an insurance company is providing payment or whether you are paying out of pocket.
How long will my appointment last?
We ask that you allow approximately one hour for your appointment. This includes time for registering, changing clothes, and being positioned on the exam table. The actual MRI takes only 20-30 minutes.
What is MRI?
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a painless, non-invasive technique that generates high-resolution images of the inside of your body. Used since the late 1970s, MRI provides more effective scans than any other form of imaging.
MRI supplies superior pictures of bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, nerves, blood flow, and other soft tissue structures. These detailed images allow doctors to rapidly diagnose injuries and other conditions, so that you can receive treatment as quickly as possible.
Pacific Imaging Center features a state-of-the-art MRI scanner that delivers the finest service to our patients and referring physicians. The GE 1.5 Tesla EchoSpeed Plus MRI System provides some of the strongest and fastest gradients of any MRI scanner on the market.
What this means for you is optimal precision in the shortest possible time. In addition, our short-bore, whole-body imaging system is designed with open, flared ends to ensure patient comfort.
Who should not have an MRI?
In most cases, people who have undergone knee, hip, or shoulder joint replacements are able to be scanned.
Because of the strong magnetic field and radio frequencies associated with our equipment, people with pacemakers, metallic implants, or any other metal objects should not have an MRI without prior approval from their physician. Also, some brain aneurysm clips, heart stents and implanted pumps may not be MRI-safe.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Our office staff would be happy to look up details about your device and/or call the manufacturer to determine if it is MRI-safe.
Will I receive two separate billings for this exam?
No. At Pacific Imaging Center, our goal is to make the exam as affordable as possible for our patients.
How do we accomplish this? Unlike the majority of our competitors, PIC pays the radiologist’s interpretation fee for you.
Please note, however, that if you are a Medicare patient, the state requires that the billing be done separately by each of the facilities involved in the exam.
How do I make an appointment?
All patients must have a physician referral before we can schedule an appointment. Please contact your doctor for additional information.
How is billing handled?
All billing for Pacific Imaging Center is handled by Longview Orthopedic Associates. If you have questions, please contact them at 360.501.3400.
At Pacific Imaging Center, our goal is to make the exam as affordable as possible for our patients. As a result, in most cases, you will not receive two billings for your exam. Unlike the majority of our competitors, PIC pays the radiologist’s interpretation fee for you. Please note, however, that if you are a Medicare patient, the state requires that the billing be done separately by each of the facilities involved in the exam.
What insurance carriers do you accept?
Pacific Imaging Center is contracted with the following insurance companies. If your insurance provider is not listed below, please contact us. We will call the company to determine if your MRI is covered.
- Care Oregon
- Community Health Plan of Washington
- Dept. of Labor and Industries
- DSHS
- First Choice
- Great West
- HealthNet
- Kaiser
- Medicare
- Molina
- OMAP (Oregon Medicaid)
- Pacificare
- PacificSource
- Premera Blue Cross
- Providence
- Railroad Medicare
- Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield – Washington and Oregon
- Secure Horizons – Oregon
- Tricare/TriWest (Champus)
- Uniform Medical
- US Dept. of Labor
- Miscellaneous insurances
Please be aware that most insurance companies need prior authorization for MRIs. With our patients’ financial interest in mind, we ask that authorization be provided prior to the appointment. You may need the following information when you contact your insurance provider:
- Tax ID #20-2707510 – Longview Orthopedic Associates
- Procedure code
- Diagnosis code
Do I need to do anything special to prepare for the exam?
PIC provides scrubs or gowns to change into and a locker where you can securely store your belongings. This is due to many clothing manufacturers adding metals, in some cases silver, copper and gold to their threads which make up some materials. The manufacturers are not required to reveal the presence of these metals in their material. By adding these metals, there is an increased risk of heating of clothing against skin, in rare cases may cause a burn. If you are unable to change please let us know and we will advise what to wear.
You should allow approximately one hour for your appointment. This includes time for registering, changing clothes, and being positioned on the exam table. The actual MRI takes only 20-30 minutes.
On occasion, your physician may ask us to administer a small amount of IV contrast.
If we are scanning your abdomen, it is important that you refrain from eating or drinking for at least six hours prior to your exam. However, please continue to take all prescribed medications as usual.
