A Blog for Healthcare Consumers

Ultrasound tests are used to detect and monitor disease. They use sound waves to create images of the internal organs of the body. They are used frequently to evaluate pelvic organs such as the uterus, ovaries, bladder.  Of course, ultrasound is used quite extensively to monitor pregnancy:

• Confirm that the pregnancy is in the uterus (and not an ectopic in the tubes for example).
• Determine that early pregnancies are viable and the fetus is growing appropriately, particularly if the mother is bleeding.
• Perform screening during the pregnancy to ensure the fetus is growing normally, moving, has a good heartbeat, detect congenital abnormalities, etc.
• In late pregnancy, ultrasounds are also performed to confirm the position of the baby (head or feet down), for example.

Ultrasounds can be performed in different settings such as the hospital, Ob/Gyn office, and outpatient Radiology center. The procedure can take up to 1 hour (depending on the stage of the pregnancy). Below is a short outline of the procedure:

1. After you sign in, you'll be taken to the ultrasound room.
2. The ultrasound technician will perform the test.
3. Once you enter the room, you will lie down on a bed/gurney.
4. The technologist will ask you to lift up your clothing, exposing your stomach and upper pelvis area.
5. He or she will place a a warmed gel solution over the skin.
6. The technologist will use an ultrasound probe and glide it over your abdomen while taking pictures. Some pictures will be captured as mini-movies (see the example video of a 20 week fetal ultrasound below).
7. Some facilities will give you a 1 or 2 page black and white small "polaroid" type of picture to take home.
8. The technologist may ask the Radiologist doctor to review the scan before you leave.
9. An official report is generated by the doctor in about 24-48 hours.

If you are insured ultrasounds during pregnancy are routinely covered. However, many uninsured expectant mothers forgo paying for the tests as they can be quite expensive. You can expect to pay anywhere between $250 to $750 for this test.

Below is a sample video of a 20 week fetal ultrasound. The study is labeled to help orient you to the baby.

When we first launched our site we knew that gaining the trust and confidence of health care consumers would be an important on-going task. Having relevant, meaningful blog posts and keeping the site safe and secure have always been a top priority. One of the key leading certifications for health care websites is offered by the Health on the Net Foundation, based in Geneva Switzerland:

The Health On the Net Foundation (HON) promotes and guides the deployment of useful and reliable online health information, and its appropriate and efficient use. Created in 1995, HON is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. For twelve years, HON has focused on the essential question of the provision of health information to citizens, information that respects ethical standards. To cope with the unprecedented volume of health care information available on the Net, the HONcode of conduct offers a multi-stakeholder consensus on standards to protect citizens from misleading health information.

We recently received HON certification after satisfying all of the requirements of the HON code of ethics and principles. We're excited to announce our achievement and will display the HON code throughout our site. Of course, we won't stop here. We'll continue to look hard at our site and look for ways to grow your trust and confidence in us and make shopping for Radiology tests such as MRI scans, CT scans, Ultrasounds, X-rays easy and safe.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
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We're adding nearly 600 additional Radiology centers throughout the U.S to our site over the next few weeks. It is a monumental task so please pardon our mess as we upgrade and clean up bugs!

You'll be able to shop and buy your Radiology tests from over 1500 imaging facilities. Each Radiology facility is accredited by the ACR, features American Board of Radiology certified Radiologists and has undergone a rigorous selection process.

We're adding 150 Radiology centers from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Washington DC over the next several days to our site. Please pardon our mess as we upgrade and clean up bugs!

You'll be able to shop and buy your Radiology tests from these facilities. As with our other Radiology facilities each is accredited by the ACR, features American Board of Radiology certified Radiologists and has undergone a rigorous selection process.

A recent Health Affairs article examined the challenges in determining how high tech medical imaging adds value to our healthcare. The article showed that in the U.S. there has been rapid expansion of the number of Radiology centers which is associated with an increase in use of Radiology imaging such as MRI, CT and PET scans.

MRI data points:

• There are over 7000 imaging centers in the U.S.
• That do 26 million MRI test each year
• At a cost of $18 billion

Although measuring both the tangible cost savings and the intangible benefits is enormously challenging, Radiology touches on nearly every major medical condition, has become an indespensible tool in treatment and diagnosis, accelerating the speed at which doctors can gather information and help them develop precise treatment plans.

Advances in Radiology have also reduced the need for invasive exams. These new Radiology tests are more comfortable, generate less patient anxiety and require shorter recovery times.

For example, CT Angiograms are increasingly replacing the need for catheter angiograms. Catheter angiograms require puncturing a major vessel in the groin area (femoral artery) to inject the contrast/dye. Whereas, during a CT Angiogram the contrast is given through an IV. Virtual colonoscopy, which uses a CT scanner, is being refined to supplant traditional invasive colonoscopy which uses a long tube to examine the colon.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans have gained wide spread adoption among oncologists. They stage and monitor treatment of a variety of cancers. PET scans can detect small "islands" of cancer cells that are not picked up by MRI and CT scans.

As Radiology technology advances, we'll see the availability of high tech medical imaging become widespread. The time to diagnose disease will become shorter and treatment plans will be personalized for each patient.

What are your thoughts? Can you think of any other benefits? Please leave your comments below.