MRI Costs and Availability

Doing an MRI isn't free, so it isn't strictly better than not doing one.

Funds? Brain scans in MRI machines are super expensive.

I live in a Russian city of 100k people and there are at least 3 medical MRI machines nearby that I visited, of a total 8 offers that maybe share the machines (though likely not), all of them of 1T field strength or above. I can get a brain MRI this week for some $70, or a full-body MRI (the most expensive as per the price list) for $400. If anything, these services got some 30%-50% cheaper in the past decade. Barring some African hellhole, the argument to scarcity or expense of these machines i

>If running the MRI machine cost $100, people would do it.There are different kinds of MRIs, but the actual direct costs for running an MRI without preparatory procedures is around $100 (preparatory dye injection may be another $50 cost). Marginal costs are lower still.See also here:https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1205

I’ve never had a problem finding a radiologist in US and my insurance covered something like 80% of my last MRI. I think I paid ~$300 for it. I would gladly pay double that for a more reliable detection.

A mri scan costs millions of dollars. It's not like you throw it away after the first 20 uses.

How does MRI compare to other techniques (e.g. CAT scans) for general diagnostics? Does it make sense to be used as a more routine diagnostics tool if there are many more machines available?In the US there are 37 MRI machines per million population, even in other relatively rich countries like France this is much lower at 14 per million population [0]. Is it just the cost of the machines, or are there drawbacks that limit their use as general purpose diagnostics tools?[0] <a href="https:&#

Using MRI is a waste of resources period. It's going to cost you more $$$$ on RAM.

In order to have access to an MRI scan you need to have a machine that's geographically close. If the nearest machine is 100 miles away the bar on what will justify a scan goes way up compared to if a machine is an elevator ride away. Buying more machines costs more money.

At a gut level I would be inclined to agree.I've had an MRI (and had to do the prerequisite 6 weeks of PT).The MRI is a huge machine. It's in its own room, and they have to be careful about allowing any metal too close to it. The scan itself took about an hour for a couple of different views, a tech had to get my body in the right position and support it with various pads and pillows. You cannot move at all, and if you do, they have to start over. Given the time for the scan itse