West Tennessee Bone & Joint Institute offers on-site radiology services, including digital X-rays at all practice locations and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at select locations. These two radiology services can show virtually any kind of injury or tissue damage in great detail.
X-rays show damage and problems within your bones, such as fractures. MRIs show all kinds of soft tissue damage, including problems with your ligaments, cartilage, tendons, nerves, and muscles.
With on-site radiology services, you can get efficient, high-level imaging, diagnosis, and treatment all in one place.
American College of Radiology Accreditation
Our MRI facilities in Jackson and Dyersburg are accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR is comprised of physicians, physicists and technology experts in radiology and radiation oncology, and is the oldest and most experienced imaging and radiation oncology accreditation body. ACR Accreditation is recognized as the gold standard in medical imaging.
What does the ACR Accreditation gold seal mean for patients?
- The facility has met the high standards of the ACR for high standards for quality and safety in medical imaging/radiation oncology treatment.
- The facility has systems in place to help ensure appropriate dose levels are used for adult and pediatric imaging where appropriate.
- ACR is committed to making sure our accredited facilities meet the standards in imaging and quality control set by radiologists and radiation oncologists across the country.
- The facility has undergone a rigorous review process which includes:
- Equipment must be assessed annually by a medical imaging and radiation oncology expert who verifies that it functions properly, takes optimal images and utilizes appropriate radiation dose.
- Personnel are required to meet ACR qualification standards to perform your procedure and interpret your medical images.
- Physicians reading your study have systems in place to review each other’s work to ensure diagnostic accuracy.
- ACR Accreditation programs are recognized by the FDA (mammography) and CMS (diagnostic MRI, CT and nuclear medicine imaging procedures).
- The ACR performs site surveys to validate compliance with regulations and safety standards.
- Program-specific educational tools are available to sites to support their commitment to ongoing quality improvement.
How do I prepare for radiology exams?
The West Tennessee Bone & Joint Institute team gives you detailed instructions when you schedule a radiology exam.
Unless you’re told otherwise, it’s generally fine to eat and drink as usual before your radiology exam, and you usually won’t need to make any medication.
It’s best to wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing that allows you to easily expose the necessary area for the imaging test.
Before your radiology exam, your highly trained technologist asks a series of questions and verifies that you’re not wearing any metal and don’t have any internal devices that have metal in them.
It’s extremely important to be honest with your technologist, as metal can distort imaging. In the case of MRI, it can also be extremely dangerous to have any metal around the machine because the machine contains a massive magnet that will pull all metal toward it.
When do I get my results from my on-site radiology services?
Because our providers do your imaging in the office, you can expect a much faster turnaround than you’d get with most offsite imaging services. Once your imaging is completed, you will follow up with your provider to review your results.
Your provider will review the results of your imaging in detail and will answer all questions you have in regards to the imaging. You can also get a CD containing the images, which you can keep for your records or for easy sharing with other medical professionals when needed.
West Tennessee Bone & Joint Institute is proud to lead the orthopedic industry by offering state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging conveniently on site for its patients.