5 Things Your Radiologist Wants You to Know
By Ruby Lukse, MD, Radiologist with Orlando Health Imaging Centers
State-of-the-art machines that can see inside your body — and make unfamiliar noises in the process — are essential in diagnosing and treating many medical conditions. Whether you’re having an X-ray, CT scan, MRI, PET scan, nuclear medicine or ultrasound, it’s helpful to know about the process before your scheduled imaging study.
Here are five things I wish all my patients knew:
- Know where and who will be performing your study. Your doctor will refer you to an imaging center for tests needed to make an accurate diagnosis. All Orlando Health Imaging Centers have highly trained, board-certified radiologists on-site. These radiologists will view your study, interpret the results and communicate them to your doctor in a timely manner.
- Your study may start before you even enter the imaging center. Depending on the type of imaging study, you may have to follow special instructions beforehand, such as fasting, taking a bowel prep solution or just continuing your usual routine.
- Be a know-it-all about your health care. Make sure to provide complete information about your medical conditions, any prior surgeries and current medications so the imaging team has all they need to get the best images and the most accurate results.
- Discuss your imaging study results with your doctor. Your doctor is best suited to determine how the imaging results fit into your overall health plan. If there are questions about the study that your doctor can’t answer, these can be clarified by the radiologist.
- Be aware that you may need to schedule a follow-up study. These technologies are an important part of monitoring particular conditions or treatment plans and may require follow-up studies.
To learn more, visit OrlandoHealthImagingCenters.com.
