MRI Scheduling and Charging

Purpose/ Applicability: 

The purpose of this SOP is to establish how the MRI equipment is to be scheduled and how to appropriately charge for MRI examinations 

Scope:

This SOP shall be applied to all patients that are having an MRI examination, regardless as to who is running the MRI.

Imaging Clinical Hours- Monday - Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Definition(s):

Clinical research – Any research utilizing equipment or services that are part of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and being conducted by College of Veterinary Medicine faculty.

Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) – The collective clinical services of the Large Animal Clinic, Midwest Equine, the Small Animal Clinic, and the Veterinary Medicine South Clinic.

Equipment:

• MRI machine – magnetic resonance imaging machine

Procedure:

1. Anyone who enters the MRI scan room must have completed the MRI safety screening process and be listed on the 3T MRI Log sheet.
2. If anyone wishes to enter the MRI scan room and has not completed the MRI safety screening process, they must contact an imaging coordinator to complete the process
3. Patients must be put on the MRI column of the Imaging schedule in SANDI’s scheduler.  The designated time slots are 9:00, 11:30, 1:30, and 3:00 on Monday-Fridays.
4. Emergent MRIs can be run outside of imaging clinical hours.  Imaging techs are on-call for emergent patients.  The imaging on-call schedule is posted in ER and the SAC rads room.
5. Equine MRIs are to be scheduled on the designated equine days that are agreed upon between the equine and neurology faculty.
6. Any clinical research studies that are performed during imaging clinical hours and have an imaging tech running the MRI will not be eligible for the 80% discount.
   1. Procedures and charges that are specific to the research are eligible for an 80% discount from client pricing. Procedures and charges that are specific to the research AND that involve services that support hospital wide activity (e.g. anesthesia, I.C.U., imaging, etc.) are NOT eligible for an 80% discount from client pricing unless the service provider is a co-investigator AND the service provider is providing the service outside of clinic duties AND the service being provided does not interfere with hospital/service operations.
   2. Anytime a research MRI is being scanned and there is an emergent MRI, the research MRI will need to vacate the MRI scanner as soon as possible.
   3. The 80% research discount is NOT applicable to imaging modalities when an official imaging report from an individual or source not involved in the study is required.
7. MRI’s of multiple body parts, such as a brain and C1- T2 spine will be charged as 1 full site and 1 additional site.
8. If one full body site is completed and then 1-2 additional sequences are requested by the ordering service, the client will be charged for 1 full site and 2 additional sequences.
9. If one full body site is completed and then 3 or more additional sequences of another body site are requested by the ordering service, the client will be charged for 1 full site and 1 additional site.
10. RT limited scans will consist of 3 sequences and can include contrast.  These scans will not have a radiologist interpretation, due to the decreased charge.  RT limited scans are only to be used for RT treatment planning.
11. Recheck MRI examinations will only receive the discounted recheck rate if the same body part is scanned following the same protocol within 90 days of the initial MRI.