Can MRI Reports be viewed immediately? – Note Please!
The answer to your question is No! You cannot view your MRI Reports immediately after you undertake the test.
Yes. Your doctor would undoubtedly receive the reports at their earliest in case of an emergency, but typically an MRI scan report cannot reach you or your doctor in a few hours!
Are you wondering why?
Well,
There lay various reasons for it & those reasons entirely depend on the functioning & norms of the healthcare providers!
Sit back & read the blog to get a wholesome insight into your question!
Why can’t healthcare providers offer MRI reports immediately?
Can MRI reports be viewed immediately?
- Translation of the MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging test requires much time. The radiologist, alongside a team of specialists, has to assess the findings and prepare a detailed report. They have to make it appropriate for your doctor to view & plan the corollary treatment.
- The healthcare providers may not have an in-house radiologist at all times. Instead, they may outsource radiological analysis work on a contractual basis. In those centers, making MRI reports are bound to take time.
- The radiology center may take time sequencing and comparing the MRI findings accurately before sending it to your doctor for acknowledgment & simultaneously needs to keep an eye on patient information so that the reports are not misplaced or exchanged.
- Radiology centers usually offer various body scans and have many patients lined up in a day for their tests. Thus, they need to conduct those tests primarily before working on the tricky MRI reports.
What is the structure of an MRI report that cannot be compiled immediately?
Perhaps,
The different aspects existing in an MRI report can be a little confusing. It involves terms that are complex and hard to interpret!
- There lay a plain text which is nothing but the basic translation of the MRI findings. It is the one readable to ordinary people!
- Then comes a more advanced version of the MRI report, which is the PDF version. It holds graphics & multimedia elements that stand readable in the common man’s eye!
- There lay a log file generated by the MRI machine automatically. This file contains MRI sequences performed during the scan and errors that happened while conducting the scan. The log file is not readable to common people & is meant essentially for troubleshooting purposes!
Now,
Are you keen to learn the main structure of an MRI report that takes so much time to be compiled?
Do you know that an MRI report lay divided into three sections?
That’s right!
The first section is actual images taken during the scan. They are the same T1 & T2 Weighted images; that was viewed on the computer screen while the scan was on!
The second section is the contrast-enhanced MRI images. They are the digitally-manipulated & boosted images made for easy reading. They may also entail the images of abnormalities specifically!
The third section is the MRI result containing information about the patients, their health condition, the similarity & differences in the MRI findings with that of previous body scans, if any, what abnormality lay found, & what can be the best treatment for it!
Therefore,
I hope you understand why an MRI report takes time to have complied now!
What are the factors determining the time taken to get an MRI report?
Besides,
There exist three parameters deciding upon the exact duration of MRI report compilation; you can say three markers! They are the following!
Perhaps, the first decisive marker to create the variation in the duration of MRI report compilation is whether it is an emergency!
When your doctor prescribes an MRI scan urgently because she predicts a life-threatening condition and seeks to start the treatment as soon as possible, you are likely to receive your MRI reports faster.
It is because emergency medical attention stands primary for all healthcare providers!
- What is the purpose of the MRI scan?
The second decisive marker herein is, of course, the main purpose of your MRI scan. That shall determine how fast you can fetch your MRI scan report!
For instance, when your doctor recommends an MRI to see how bad is your bone fracture, you are likely to receive your MRI report earlier than when your doctor recommends an MRI to plan your cancer treatment or check the stage of cancer.
- Who takes responsibility to read the MRI result?
The third & last parameter to determine the duration of MRI report compilation is certainly who would take the responsibility to read the MRI result!
Sometimes, your doctor may take charge of interpreting your MRI scan findings. But, sometimes, the radiologist, together with a team of specialists, may do so and subsequently send the report to your doctor.
In the case of the former, you are likely to receive your MRI scan report faster than you do in the case of the latter!
When can you get your MRI reports, if not immediately?
Typically, you shall receive your MRI report in two to three weeks, but that depends solely on the healthcare provider. These days, as online reports have become much more prevalent, you may also get it in a day or two via email or WhatsApp.
When your doctor is the one to refer you directly to a healthcare provider for your diagnosis, they shall send the report to your doctor straight away & not you! She will be discussing the findings with you on your next visit!
However,
If you undertake a self-referred MRI, the time limit shall stay fixed as per the center’s norm, and you shall have to collect the report from them directly!
Above all,
In case of urgency, you shall receive the report at its earliest!
Concluding Remarks:
So,
What do you think? When would you receive the MRI report? Do you want your MRI report in a day or two?
If so, you can freely book & schedule your MRI test from NABL-accredited diagnostic centers in Chandigarh only at www.mrichandigarh.com
