Implementation of Breast MRI into a Private Practice

As clinical research in the last several years has continued to reveal the importance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) use in breast imaging, we forged ahead to implement breast MRI in our private practice workflow. The initial start-up costs were prohibitive, so our facility decided to start our MRI experience with a mobile unit. This enhanced our experience and comfort level and initiated our ongoing negotiations for MRI growth with our referring doctors, our patients, and our local insurers. It has been a learning curve for everyone involved with the implementation process. In the end, we established an outpatient MRI practice and built a stationary MRI suite that has suited our work environment. This happened slowly, always with serious consideration to finances, local environment, and workflow issues.