Dedicated to Quality, Patient-centric Care

Whether it is a local athlete coming in for an MRI due to an injury or a mother of three for her screening mammogram, these patients join the more than 180,000 a year who utilize Radiology Associates as their diagnostic imaging center of choice. This practice of 22 radiologists spans St Johns, Flagler, and Volusia Counties in East Central Florida and includes five imaging centers along with an outpatient endovascular clinic.

What do an athlete suffering from an on-the-field injury and a mother of three have in common?

The athlete wants to come to Radiology Associates Imaging, the largest radiology provider in East Central Florida, because he knows his exam will be performed using the most sophisticated MRI available anywhere and will be interpreted by a board-certified, fellowship-trained radiologist who specializes in the evaluation of sports injuries.

The practice’s focus on patient-centric care is also evident for the mother of three who comes in for her screening mammogram. She is comforted knowing that her radiologist is available on-site and that the center is accredited and provides a full complement of breast health services in one convenient location.

“In a time when many radiology practices are sending exams electronically to be read by radiologists at locations around the country and beyond, our radiologists are always on-site and provide our patients with the high-quality, personal level of care that they deserve,” says Al Falco, Chief Executive Officer of Radiology Associates Imaging.

Radiology Associates Imaging, which has a monthly exam volume of over 15,000, is comprised of 22 board-certified radiologists whose fellowship-trained specialties cater to a wide variety of patient needs. These specialties include:

• Breast
• Body
• Thoracic
• Abdominal
• Neuroradiology
• Interventional
• Neurointerventional
• Cardiac
• Musculoskeletal
• Musculoskeletal sports imaging
• MRI imaging
• Ultrasound imaging
• CT imaging
• Vascular
• Nuclear medicine

Radiology Associates Imaging also features an outpatient endovascular office where patients are screened for interventional radiologic procedures. Minor procedures such as vein ablation, sclerotherapy, and vein wave procedures are performed on-site.

DELIVERING HIGH-QUALITY, PATIENT-CENTRIC CARE

According to the practice, the first-class service experience starts from the moment the patient’s referring physician decides to schedule an appointment. Referring physicians can choose from one of four options:

• Calling Radiology Associates Imaging’s scheduling department
• Faxing a request
• Logging in to the very same scheduling software used by the practice’s schedulers to book an appointment for their patient
• Electronically placing an order for the practice to contact the patient to schedule an exam.

Prior to their exam, a patient is educated about the potential costs associated with the procedure, which helps to alleviate any concerns regarding unexpected financial burdens, says Falco. Once the patient arrives at the imaging center, the registration process is quick and the well-appointed yet comfortable amenities make the minimal wait times pleasant.

Perhaps even more important, says Falco, is the fact that most radiology reports are available within minutes of exam completion, so a referring physician can easily access their patient’s results by fax, online, or by contacting one of the practice’s radiologists directly.

The practice’s focus on delivering first-class patient care also extends to its purchasing strategy when it comes to new equipment, according to Falco. “For example, when a patient comes in to one of our facilities, their images are captured on a state-of-the-art CT scanner. This means that the scanning time is reduced to a couple of minutes, thus achieving a lower radiation dose for our patients, along with higher quality images, which allow our radiologists to render very precise interpretations.”

The calming d?cor and welcoming staff help make Radiology Associates Imaging a comfortable environment for patients. Featuring warm colors, hardwood floors, intimate hallways, sub-waiting rooms, and exclusive women’s sections, the focus is clearly on delivering patient-centric care.

“Our caring team members treat each patient with empathy and respect,” says Falco. “During procedures, our technologists and radiologists take the time to explain procedures and listen to patient needs.”

An example of this, he says, is the way team members treat women who come in for diagnostic mammograms. “Often these women are experiencing anxiety because of their uncertainty about their results. To deliver the best possible care, our staff focuses on each individual and our radiologists personally consult with patients to ensure that they have immediate results.”

All of the practice’s facilities are accredited. “In fact,” says Falco, “we are always among the first to be accredited by the American College of Radiology for every type of procedure that has been made available. Further, we are proud to have received the prestigious Breast Center of Excellence accreditation and cardiac accreditation. In addition, all of our internal radiation dose standards exceed ACR standards.”

In order to deliver the highest quality patient care, the practice provides access to multiple modalities including digital x-ray, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, digital mammography, breast biopsy, nuclear medicine, Time-of-Flight PET/CT scanners, 16 and 64 slice CT, and High Field 3T Open Bore MRI.

DELIVERING ON A WEALTH OF HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE

For a little historical perspective, Radiology Associates Imaging developed medical imaging at Daytona Beach’s first hospital, Halifax Health, over 60 years ago.

With its locations in St Augustine, Palm Coast (two locations), Port Orange, and Daytona Beach, Radiology Associates Imaging provides virtually any imaging services their patients may need—from spectroscopy, breast MRI, and cardiac studies to a chest x-ray.

“Physicians know that sending their patients to Radiology Associates Imaging will yield the best results possible,” says Falco. “They know the credentials of our radiologists and have depended on those radiologists’ high-quality reading standards for years. They know our radiologists personally and trust them.”

Some other “firsts” achieved by Radiology Associates Imaging’s outpatient imaging centers include:

• The first Breast Center of Excellence in St Johns and Volusia Counties
• The first CT scanner in Flagler County and, later, the first 64-slice CT in Volusia and Flagler Counties
• The first PET scanner in Flagler County and, later, the first and only regional Time-of-Flight PET/CT scanners
• The first 3T MRI scanner in Volusia County and Flagler County

“Whether it is a professional athlete, a mother of three, or any of the other 180,000 patients who visit Radiology Associates Imaging annually, our patients can be assured that our mission is to be the premier provider of radiology imaging services in the Southeast,” says Falco. “Our quality, service, and care will be unsurpassed and we will never waver on our standard for leading the radiology industry.”

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Aine Cryts is a contributing writer for Axis Imaging News.