MRI waiting lists: How to get seen faster?

feralridge3 said:The tumor was completely removed. Six months later, I had to follow up with my neurosurgeon with new scans, so I scheduled an appointment at Nemetov since their wait times are supposedly the shortest. Honestly, I felt like a little kid again when they told me everything looked fine—even the report didn't mention any recurrence.

I managed to get in with the neurosurgeon just under a month later. When I showed up for the check-up, he couldn't believe they had missed it. He spent the whole time pointing at the images, explaining what was what, and expressing total disbelief. The tumor was about 1cm in size.
The reality is that my tumor progresses incredibly fast, so catching a recurrence immediately is absolutely critical.

If they had simply told me, "We aren't certain, please get an MRI with spectroscopy," I wouldn't have complained. Instead, I wasted a month, and then due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, I lost another month. By the time I finally went under the knife, the tumor had doubled in size. 😢

After an experience like that, I wouldn't set foot in there again.

I forgot to mention earlier: they knew everything. I always carry my entire medical history and all my imaging results with me, and quite frankly, that file has become massive.

Does it show up clearly on the images without using contrast dye?
Sometimes it even comes down to whether the imaging is triggered at the exact right moment while the contrast is circulating.
But honestly, yes—it is incredibly important who is looking at those scans, how they interpret them, and when they do it.

wearymarlin99 said:As I mentioned, I had my MRI done over at the Mayo Clinic. My experience with Nemetov has been limited to orthopedics, but I’ve been quite happy with them. Actually, the Akromion clinic runs an orthopedic outpatient wing inside Nemetov, which is where I went for my consultation. The staff is friendly and the doctor is solid. Of course, all this comes with a price tag.

The connection between "Acromion" and Nemetov is purely spatial—they just happen to share the same building—so the quality of "Acromion" isn't really a reflection of the Mayo Clinic...

Jesse Sanchez90 said:Does it show up clearly on the images without using contrast dye?
Sometimes it even comes down to whether the imaging is triggered at the exact right moment while the contrast is circulating.
But honestly, yes—it is incredibly important who is looking at those scans, how they interpret them, and when they do it.

I honestly don't know; I haven't even asked my neurologist or my neurosurgeon yet. 🤷
If they had told me there was any uncertainty at all, I would have marched straight back to my neurologist immediately. I would have pushed to get into neurosurgery much sooner to avoid that whole mess with the operating room renovations... plus there were other delays involving the relocation of the surgical suites... a perfect storm of circumstances, really. To give you an idea of the timeline, I was at the Mayo Clinic back in February, but the surgery didn't actually happen until mid-May.
When we are talking about the brain, and specifically because my tumor was located so close to the visual center, every single millimeter counts. 😢

feralridge3

How are you feeling now that the surgery is behind you? I was wondering, what were the actual symptoms of that tumor, especially since it was located so close to the optic center? Did you deal with a lot of headaches? Also, did they have you do any computerized visual field testing? I'm really rooting for you—I truly hope everything clears up completely and that the tumor is totally gone.

mistyjackal842 said:feralridge3

How are you feeling now that the surgery is behind you? I was wondering, what were the actual symptoms of that tumor, especially since it was located so close to the optic center? Did you deal with a lot of headaches? Also, did they have you do any computerized visual field testing? I'm really rooting for you—I truly hope everything clears up completely and that the tumor is totally gone.

Khm, I think you've misread the situation slightly. 😉
In my case, the tumor was completely removed both times.
Yes, it started with headaches—they became increasingly intense and frequent until my head was in constant pain, and even over-the-counter painkillers weren't doing a thing. I ended up being hospitalized after arriving at the ER.
Later, while I was processing everything, other signs started appearing... issues with stability, stumbling while walking, and a diminished sense of depth perception.
I didn't undergo any specific eye-related diagnostic testing.
After the first surgery, it felt like my vision had worsened, and that period dragged on for what seemed like forever.
Now, two and a half years later, I have no issues with my vision whatsoever.🙂

Does anyone happen to have any leads on a clinic that’s currently accepting Medicare?
The waiting lists everywhere are just getting ridiculous—I'm really hoping there's still somewhere out there that takes referrals...

I checked, and Saint Catherine is set to work with Medicare through March 31, 2015, but they're already completely booked up until then...

I think they’ve all just cut ties. A few months back, I was looking for help over in Miami-Dade County, but none of the private practices there will touch anything covered by Medicare—it's just a headache. I ended up on a waiting list at the Mayo Clinic back in May 2016, so I eventually just bit the bullet and went to a private specialist out of my own pocket. Now, I’ve been paying off the bill for the exam for an entire year—thank God for installment plans, honestly.

Medikol in Cleveland just scheduled an MRI for six months from now

I was reading somewhere yesterday that Medicare is being forced to start putting out contracts again... I'm not entirely sure on the exact timing, though. It seems like they either just released the tender or they'll have to open it up very soon...

I’ve got an MRI scheduled on the horizon, though I’m seriously doubting I’ll end up getting it done in New York City. I actually took the liberty of calling the Holy Spirit clinic just to check their availability, and goodness gracious, they told me the wait time is roughly six months! Can you believe that? I was reading this recent article about the massive backlogs for magnetic resonance imaging, and honestly, it's infuriating how long people have to wait for basic diagnostics. At this rate, I think I might just drive out to Boise or maybe head toward Portland to see if I can get it handled much sooner...

quietscout85 said:I’ve got an MRI scheduled on the horizon, though I’m seriously doubting I’ll end up getting it done in New York City. I actually took the liberty of calling the Holy Spirit clinic just to check their availability, and goodness gracious, they told me the wait time is roughly six months! Can you believe that? I was reading this recent article about the massive backlogs for magnetic resonance imaging, and honestly, it's infuriating how long people have to wait for basic diagnostics. At this rate, I think I might just drive out to Boise or maybe head toward Portland to see if I can get it handled much sooner...

Back when I was going in for checkups every six months—once I finished seeing all my specialists—I would immediately schedule the next appointment on the spot. Now, I only go once a year, so I make sure to book everything six months in advance: the MRI, the specialists, the whole works. I've followed that routine and haven't run into any issues so far.

Does anyone have a list of clinics that are actually in-network with Medicare somewhere?

I mean, besides the local Medikol branch over in Portland. Please help me out if you guys know anything.

I don't think there’s some official master list of private clinics where you can just walk in and get an MRI using your Medicare referral, but if you just type private clinic MRI Medicare into Google, you'll probably stumble upon a few options.

I actually know for a fact that Saint Catherine accepts Medicare for their MRI scans.

Jack's clinic is finally taking referrals for MRIs in New York City...