Radiology Department:

Routine Inpatient Services:
Scheduled via computer system. Consult your computer ordering instructions or call Radiology at (740) 348-4710 for assistance. During computer downtimes, you may fax the downtime requisition to 4740.

Routine Outpatient Services:
All procedures are scheduled through Centralized Scheduling at (740) 348-4722.

Emergency Department Services:
Radiographic examinations are performed in the Emergency Department upon request by a physician.

Other Emergency Services:
During routine working hours, emergency imaging services are available on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Contact the specific imaging area of interest within the Radiology Department.

After routine working hours, emergency imaging services are available for the following imaging modalities on an emergency call basis for the hospital inpatients and Emergency Department patients. This is to ensure that appropriate physicians can monitor patients requiring emergency care and/or nursing services during the time they are in the Radiology Department.

Registering
A physician’s order is required at time of registration. Please report directly to the Radiology/Imaging Department 30 minutes prior to your scheduled exam time.

How do you prepare?
Different types of X-rays require different preparations. Ask your doctor or nurse to provide you with specific instructions.

In general, you undress the area of your body that needs examination. You may wear a gown to cover yourself with during the exam, depending on what area is being X-rayed. You may also be asked to remove jewelry, eyeglasses and any metal objects that could- like clothing- obscure the X-ray image, since these objects can show up on X-ray.

You may wear a lead apron, to shield your sex organs from exposure to X-rays. At very high doses, radiation can damage a woman’s eggs or a man’s sperm. Since you’re exposed to a small amount of radiation during most X-rays, the lead apron is used simply as a precaution.

At high doses radiation also can be harmful to a fetus. Always inform the X-ray technologist if there’s any possibility that you’re pregnant. Your doctor suggests you either forgo the X-ray exam or, if one is necessary at the time, take precautions to minimize radiation exposure to the fetus.

Before some types of X-rays, such as a barium enema, you’re given a liquid called contrast medium, or a dye. Contrast media – barium and iodine are examples – help outline a specific area of your body on X-ray film. You may swallow the contrast medium, insert it as an enema or receive it as an injection into a vein. The contrast medium appears opaque on X-ray film, providing a clear outline of structures such as your digestive tract or blood vessels.

If you’re to receive a contrast medium before an X-ray, tell your doctor if you have a history of allergy to X-ray dye.

It’s important to notify the RN or radiographer if you take an oral diabetic medication called Glucophage, if you have any history of kidney disease or if you take an anticoagulant or “blood thinner”. 

What can you expect during the test?
X-rays are performed at most doctors’ offices, dentists’ offices, emergency rooms and hospitals – wherever an X-ray machine is available. If you need an X-ray, you’re brought to a room with a movable machine that produces the X-ray  and table or wall-mounted equipment typically containing a cassette with X-ray film. 

You may lie on a table, sit or stand between the X-ray machine and the X-ray film. The technologist or a radiologist – doctor who specializes in interpreting X-rays and other imaging tests – helps position your body to obtain the necessary views. He or she may use pillows or sandbags to help you hold the proper position. The technologist then aims the machine at the area of your body that needs examination. For dental X-rays, the dentist or dental hygienist places a small piece of film in your mouth, behind the section of teeth being X-rayed. You’re asked to bite down on the paper tab around the film, which holds the film in place.

Once you’re in the proper position, the technologist enters a control booth. During the X-ray exposure, you remain still and hold your breath to avoid moving, which can cause blurring on the film.

The technologist may take X-rays from multiple angles, for example one of the front of your body and one from the side.

If your young child is having an X-ray, restraints may be used to help keep him or her still. You may be allowed to remain with your child during the test. If you remain in the room during the X-ray exposure, you’re typically given a lead apron to wear to shield you from unnecessary exposure.

An X-ray procedure may last from several minutes, for a bone X-ray, to about an hour, for more involved procedures such as those using a contrast medium.

For most X-rays, you feel no discomfort other than the hardness of the X-ray table or the temperature of the room, which may be kept cool to keep the equipment from overheating. It may be necessary to compress momentarily the body part being examined. This compression may be uncomfortable, but the discomfort lasts only briefly during the X-ray exposure. If you’re having a test that requires a contrast medium, ask your doctor what to expect.

After an X-ray, you generally dress and return to your normal activities. Routine X-rays usually have no side effects. However, if you receive an injection of contrast medium before your X-rays, call your doctor if you experience pain, swelling or redness at the injection site. Ask your doctor about other signs and symptoms to watch for pertaining to your specific X-ray procedure.

Results

X-ray films are usually developed or are viewed on-screen within minutes. A radiologist typically views and interprets the results and sends the findings to your doctor, who then explains the results to you. In an emergency, your X-ray results can be made available to your doctor in minutes.

Risks

You may worry that X-rays aren’t safe because it’s known that high levels of radiation exposure can cause cell mutations that may lead to cancer. But the amount of radiation that you’re exposed to during an X-ray is so small that the risk of any damage to cells in your body is extremely low.

So, for most X-ray examinations, the benefits of any medically indicated examination are thought to greatly outweigh the small risk. In addition, great care is taken to use the lowest radiation dose possible to produce the best image for the radiologist to evaluate. No radiation remains after an X-ray examination.

However, if you’re pregnant or suspect that you may be pregnant, inform your doctor before having an X-ray. Though the risk of most diagnostic X-rays to an unborn baby is small, your doctor may consider whether it’s better to wait or to use another imaging test such as ultrasound.