Everything You Need to Know About a PET Scan
October 29, 2024
Read MoreIf your medical provider has scheduled you for an MRI, you’re likely anxious to get your results. This guide will cover everything you need to know about obtaining your final report, including how to access your records online and how long they typically take to get back to you. It will also outline possible next steps and address frequently asked questions, so you have a thorough understanding of what to expect while waiting for your MRI findings.
PocketHealth provides secure and easy access to your final report as soon as it is uploaded, giving you an early glimpse of your results. This allows you to familiarize yourself with your records, prepare questions for your follow-up appointment, and gain insights into your health. While it does not replace medical advice, it empowers you to have more informed discussions with your healthcare provider.
Your MRI results may be available online through your referring physician’s patient portal or the imaging clinic, but these sharing methods don’t always include the images, or, if images are included, they may not be in diagnostic quality. Diagnostic-quality imaging is important because it allows you to view your results just as your physician does and means you can easily get a second opinion.
The timing of when you receive your MRI results can vary based on several factors. Let’s review various situations.
Typically, it takes about a week or two for the imaging clinic or hospital to send your MRI results to your referring physician. However, this timeline can vary based on several factors, such as the facility’s workload, the complexity of the MRI, and whether a specialist’s review is needed. Urgent cases or abnormal findings may be expedited, while routine scans might take longer due to the radiologist’s schedule or the need for additional analysis. Always check with your healthcare provider for the most accurate timeframe for your specific case. If you are a PocketHealth user, you will be noticed the moment your report is uploaded.
If you’re in an emergency situation and you’re at the ER or other crisis facility, MRI results are often available within a few hours, although such situations are thankfully rare. For less immediate circumstances, urgent MRI results can sometimes be as fast as the same day or take up to a week or more, depending on how busy the imaging facility and radiologist are. The timing for delivering MRI results depends on the healthcare facility’s protocols and the urgency of the findings. If an MRI reveals significant abnormalities requiring immediate attention, medical professionals generally aim to communicate the results promptly. However, the exact timeframe can vary. In some cases, preliminary findings may be shared right after the scan or shortly thereafter. For more complex cases that require further consultations or specialist opinions, the process may take longer. Healthcare providers strive to balance promptness with accuracy, ensuring patients receive clear information and appropriate support for any concerning results.
Once a radiologist has analyzed your MRI, the results are sent to your referring physician, who will review them with you during a follow-up appointment. This process generally takes about one to two weeks, though the exact timing can vary depending on several factors. If you’d like to view your report online before your doctor’s appointment, we’ll guide you through the steps to access it and how to request a copy for your records.
Some medical facilities offer online access to recent records, but the availability and timing can vary widely. PocketHealth provides the fastest and easiest way to view your MRI results online, allowing you to see your records as soon as they’re uploaded, often before your follow-up appointment with your doctor. It also securely stores past scans and reports, so you can access all your medical imaging in one place, anytime you need.
The timing of your MRI results depends on your medical provider, how long the radiologist takes to interpret your images and other factors. For many patients, their doctor will provide the results at the next appointment or during a follow-up phone call. If you want access to your final report as soon as it is available, PocketHealth offers secure and easy access through their online platform. While it’s still important to have a physician discuss the report with you, PocketHealth allows you to get an early look while you wait for your appointment.
If you are a PocketHealth user, you will have secure online access to all your imaging records anytime, once they are uploaded. This feature is particularly useful if you need to share your data with other medical professionals or specialists. If you don’t have online access, you’ll likely need to request a copy from your referring physician. For legal purposes, you may be required to sign a records release form and some clinics might charge a fee.
It’s easy to feel in the dark about your health while waiting for your physician to share the results. PocketHealth helps you gain some control over your healthcare journey by giving you fast, easy and secure access to your medical reports, as soon as they are available. Here are 5 ways PocketHealth helps ensure you are a partner, not a passenger, in your own care:
With access to your MRI imaging and report, PocketHealth enables you to arrive at your next appointment feeling confident, informed and ready to participate in your own care.
Waiting to get your MRI results is just one part of your health journey. What do you do with the information once you actually get it? Here are some helpful recommendations for follow up actions.
Deciphering your MRI results can be challenging due to the numerous technical descriptions, medical acronyms and complex terminology. If you have access to your report but haven’t had your follow-up medical appointment yet, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. PocketHealth Report Reader can assist with understanding this specialized vocabulary. It offers simplified definitions for the medical terms found in your results, helping you gain a clearer understanding of what it all means.
It is important that you attend any scheduled follow-up appointments with your physician to discuss the results of your MRI. Even if you have access to your own MRI images and report, your physician can give you essential insight into your results because they will be able to view your MRI images within the context of any other tests or appointments you’ve had in the past. Your physician will also discuss any next steps with you and give you all the information you need to decide what’s next.
To further enhance this discussion, MyCare Navigator equips you with personalized questions tailored to your report, allowing for a more focused and productive conversation with your doctor. It also highlights key recommendations from your report, ensuring you are well-prepared and always aware of what to expect next.
The radiologist who reviews your MRI results will create a report based on their findings and send both the MRI images and the report to your referring physician. If you have access to your results and want to understand them better, here’s a helpful article that explains how to read an MRI report.
For a quick overview of your results, keep in mind that MRI images are often taken from multiple angles to provide a comprehensive view for the radiologist. Here are a few tips to help you make sense of what you see.
When analyzing your results, a radiologist considers the color and intensity of MRI images, which depends on the type of MRI sequence:
Many patients who receive MRI scans have similar questions. Here are answers to some of the most common queries.
When MRI results are serious, the timing of when your doctor provides the results can vary. Some medical providers prefer to discuss your report at your follow-up appointment to explain your condition in person.
Typically, if immediate actions are required based on your results, your provider will contact you sooner. For patients with online access to their report, you might see your results before your doctor does, which may make waiting for answers feel unsettling. Try not to panic. If you have concerns about your results, consider calling your medical provider’s office to request a brief discussion with your doctor or the on-call staff if they are unavailable. A quick phone conversation about abnormal results can help ease your anxiety while you wait for your follow-up appointment.
Medical providers often schedule a follow-up appointment after imaging scans to discuss the results and any necessary next steps. However, it’s not uncommon for doctors to review your report with you over the phone, especially if the news is positive or if there is a straightforward action plan.
Your MRI results may be available to many different parties. The radiologist reviewing your MRI results will have access, as will your referring physician, but in some cases, insurance companies and different care centers require access as well. Some others who may have access to your records include:
For Aileen, accessing her brain MRI results through PocketHealth empowered her to be more proactive about her health, rather than passively receiving information from her doctor. It also allowed her husband to be involved in her medical journey during COVID, when restrictions prevented him from attending her appointments.
Waiting for an MRI result can be nerve-wracking. Having secure access to your images and reports gives you the opportunity to understand the MRI results ahead of an appointment with your physician, so you can prepare more informed questions about any next steps in your healthcare journey.