Patient FAQs
How soon can a patient be scheduled?
Does your office take care
of the patients' insurance authorizations?
How soon can I get reports faxed/emailed to me?
Do I need a prescription from my doctor in order
to be scanned?
What can you help diagnose?
How accurate is the 64 Slice CT scan?
What is the significance of the "64" Slice opposed to the lower multi-slice
scanners?
What is the difference between
the MRI and a CT scan?
Why are heart procedures not covered by insurance
companies?
What is the difference between virtual colonoscopy and a traditional colonoscopy?
Should I stop medication?
How recent does my blood work have to be?
Why are some imaging centers cheaper?
Is 64 Slice the highest quality CT scanner?
How long will I be here?
Where is parking located?
Are there special preparations for the scans?
Will my medication interact with the scan?
How long will it take to get my results?
Do you have an MRI or PET?
Do you offer Nuclear Stress or Echo Cardiogram testing?
What is the significance of a coronary calcium
score?
What is the difference between a coronary calcium
score and a CTA of the
chest with coronaries?
What is the purpose of getting a study done with
contrast?
Are all the pictures reconstructed on a 3D work
station?
Is there a radiologist on site?
Do you have low dose radiation protocol?
Can a CT of the chest detect lung cancer?
What are the benefits of a CTA of the chest
with coronaries opposed to a nuclear stress test?
How soon can a patient be scheduled? Same
day scheduling and performing the imaging studies
can be done on patients who pay cash or who have Medicare
insurance. It is helpful for patients to have the results
of recent routine laboratory reports kidney function
known as a "BUN" and "Creatinine". Most
insurance companies require a pre-authorization which can
take anywhere from 2-10 business days to obtain. In urgent
cases when an insured patient cannot wait for the authorization
process, pre-payment with a credit card is customary with
your being refunded if the insurance company pays for the
imaging study.
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Does your office take care of the patients' insurance authorizations? As
a courtesy, our office staff will work with you to obtain the insurance authorization. Expediting
this process requires that we have complete and accurate insurance information
and that your physician who has ordered the exam provides us with the necessary
information from your medical record. There are times when the insurance
company will want to speak directly to the ordering physician.
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How soon can I get reports faxed/emailed to me? Our goal is to
have reports faxed or emailed to the ordering physicians’ office within
one full business day. Stat studies are called directly to the physicians’ office
within an hour of the study being complete. Results of studies can be
obtained from the ordering physician.
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Do I need a prescription from my doctor in order to be scanned? Patients
who are undergoing screening procedures such as coronary artery CT angiography,
lung scanning, or virtual colonography do not need a doctors orders, however
we will need to know if you have any allergies, in particular to contrast agents
and shellfish. It would also be helpful to have the information on your kidney
function which is part of routine blood testing most physicians perform on
their patients. If you are under the age of 55 years and have no history
of kidney disease, diabetes or hypertension, you may not be required to have
these test results available, though it can only be helpful if we can get them.
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What can you help diagnose? Imaging for physicians
is like taking off our blindfolds. 64 slice cardiac CT for the first time allows us to look
at your coronary arteries if you have risk factors to determine if you
are at risk of heart attack or sudden cardiac death. With so many treatments
available that can reduce the risk of these complications; this is information
that can be lifesaving. The key is to prevent the event. More
patients die of heart disease then all of the cancers combined. Nearly
10 times as many women die of heart disease compared to breast cancer. CT is
useful for screening for lung cancer in patients who have smoked
more then 10 years in their lifetime. CT colonography is particularly
useful as an alternative to conventional colonoscopy in patients who have an
aversion to colonoscopy or who take blood thinners such as Coumadin (warfarin),
aspirin or Plavix. In addition CT has been useful to diagnose a
host of disorders in patients who have symptoms in their head, chest, abdomen,
pelvis and the vascular supply to all organs.
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How accurate is the 64 Slice CT scan? CT has been shown
to be very accurate in determining the presence or absence of coronary artery
disease. It
is far more accurate then conventional coronary angiography to determine the
presence of the earlier phases of coronary artery diseases. The accuracy
of the exam is not just based on the type of imaging equipment used but even
more to the expertise, time and effort put in by the technical staff who obtain
and reconstruct the images and physicians who read them. At WMI
we are blessed to have triple board certified cardiologists who have been the
pioneers in the field of cardiac CT along with a highly skilled radiologist
in-house who read and interpret your studies.
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What is the significance of the "64" Slice opposed to the lower multi-slice scanners? The term "64" slice relates to the
number of sensors that move around the patient that obtain the images. In
order to obtain images of the heart which unlike any other organ is in constant
motion, there is a requirement to have at least 16 slices and ideally 64
slices to quickly obtain the highest quality images that have the least amount
of blurring.
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What is the difference between the MRI and a CT scan? An MRI
uses the magnetic fields or magnets to obtain pictures of body organs and blood
vessels where CT uses x-ray. There are certain examinations that can
be performed by both technologies and some such as the coronary artery studies
that can only be performed with CT.
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Why are heart procedures not covered by insurance companies? This
is a good question. If you ask the insurance company, they will claim that
his is an experimental procedure even though it is approved by the FDA and
as of late 2007 paid for by Medicare as a diagnostic (versus screening) study. Despite
many clinical trials showing the ability of cardiac CT to be an important imaging
modality and the lives we have saved with it every week, this is a good question
to ask your insurance agent.
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What is the difference between virtual colonoscopy and a traditional colonoscopy? Virtual colonoscopy uses CT technology to get an excellent
view of the colon to find malignant and pre-malignant lesions. It
does not require intravenous sedation, the use of a colonoscopy tube
and thereby avoid the risk of colon perforation. The main advantage of virtual
colonography is that you do not have to miss a day of work. As soon as
you are done with this exam that takes about one hour, you are free to drive
out and continue on with your day. Though traditional colonoscopy remains
the standard, recent clinical trials comparing these two approaches along with
the similar effectiveness is making colonography more and more popular.
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Should I stop medication? Most medications do not need to be
stopped. You can feel free to contact our office with questions regarding
specific medication.
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How recent does my blood work have to be? In patients who have
any history or diabetes, hypertension or kidney failure, it would be helpful
to have blood work (BUN and Creatinine) performed within the last 1-3 months. In
patients who do not have any of these conditions and are < 55 years of age,
blood work is not needed. In patients > 55 years of age who do not have
diabetes, hypertension or kidney disease, we would prefer lab work being performed
within the last 6 months.
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Why are some imaging centers cheaper? Whenever you buy anything
you have to "compare apples to apples and not to oranges". It
is our philosophy at WMI to have the highest quality studies performed with the
smallest risk to the patient. This means we pay attention to lots of details
including using more expensive, higher quality contrast agents, using
protocols that minimize exposure to x-ray to acceptable levels, having the
most highly qualified technical staff and the most experienced and qualified
readers in the United States.
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Is 64 Slice the highest quality CT scanner? 64
Slice CT is the highest quality CT available that has the clinical trial data
showing how effective it is.
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How long will I be here? Examinations that do not require the
use of contrast or colonography enable your visit here to be less then 30 minutes
in most cases. The use of contrast agents is associated with stays between
30-60 minutes.
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Where is parking located? Metered parking is available
on La Cienega from 9:00AM to 4:00PM with parking also available on the side
streets. In
addition, parking is available within the medical building.
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Are there special preparations for the scans? Different scans
have different preparations. This information will be provided to you
at the time your appointment is made. Patients who undergo heart scans are
asked to avoid caffeinated products for 24 hours, not eat solid food within
4 hours of the administration of contrast but be well hydrated.
Will my medication interact with the scan? We
generally request that patients do not take Glucophage (metformin) for 48 hours
following the scan if contrast is given.
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How long will it take to get my results? The best
way to get the results is from your physician who ordered the examination. Most non-cardiac
exam results are sent to your physician within 24 hours. Since cardiac
studies require much more time for image reconstruction, these study results
are usually not available for 3-4 business days from the day the study was
performed.
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Do you have an MRI or PET? The state of the art MRI will be in operation by
the Fall of 2009.
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Do you offer Nuclear Stress or Echo Cardiogram testing?
Yes. Call today and schedule an appointment:
(310) 289-9955
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What is the significance of a coronary calcium score? The
presence of coronary calcium means you have coronary artery disease and therefore
at heightened risk of heart attack and sudden cardiac death. It does not provide
information on the severity of blockages or whether they are located in high
risk or low risk parts of your coronary arteries. The absence of calcium means
that you are less likely to have coronary artery disease but does not rule
it out. Usually patients who have an abnormal coronary calcium score
are treated more aggressively with statins and other treatments to lower LDL-cholesterol
to less then 70 mg/dl/. This exam does not use any contrast agents and
is available with little notice needed from you.
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What is the difference between a coronary calcium score
and a CTA of the
chest with coronaries? A cardiac CTA is an angiogram that requires a modest
amount of contrast given intravenously and allows one to determine whether you
have hard (calcified) and soft (non-calcified) plaque, can determine the location
and severity of plaque. In addition, this study can look at heart function,
valve function as well as image the aorta, pulmonary arteries and other structures
in the chest.
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What is the purpose of getting a study done with contrast? Contrast
agents allow us to identify and characterize abnormal structures in the body
better when studies are performed first without contrast and then with contrast
administration. Whether a particular study requires contrast depends
on the clinical question being asked and the organ system being imaged. These
issues can be discussed either with the ordering physician or our medical staff.
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Are all the pictures reconstructed on a 3D work station? Yes, we find
the 3D workstation allows us to detect abnormalities much more effectively
then the older 2D workstations but also requires the reading physicians to
spend more time evaluating your study. Many imaging centers still use the 2D
workstations because they are less expensive and allow the reader to read the
studies faster.
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Is there a radiologist on site? Can he discuss findings with me after
the test? We do have a radiologist on site and he is available to discuss
the results of the study with you. Since he may not have complete
background information on your condition that the ordering physician has, we
strongly prefer you discuss the results of the scan with your physician
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Do you have low dose radiation protocol? Yes, our low dose protocol
reduces exposure to radiation by nearly 70% compared to other imaging centers.
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Can a CT of the chest detect lung cancer? CT is the
exam of choice to detect lung cancer. Lung cancers that are detected on CT that are
not visible on chest-x-ray have very high cure rates. Once you wait till
it is seen on a chest -x-ray, cure rates go down considerably.
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What are the benefits of a CTA of the chest with coronaries
opposed to a
nuclear stress test? These two exams compliment each other. A
stress exam is good for patients who have exertional symptoms. It will
not detect a coronary blockage that is less then 70%. Therefore a negative stress
test only means you do not a severe blockage but will miss the mild and moderate
blockages that are responsible for most heart attacks. A cardiac CT will
identify any blockage as well as evaluate heart muscle function and valve function
as well as identify clots in the heart, thoracic aortic aneurysms, lung cancers
and pulmonary emboli, all of which can cause chest pain. As a convenience
to patients, both exams are available at our state of the art imaging center.
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