Getting an MRI starts with a doctor’s order. In nearly all cases, you cannot simply walk into an imaging center and request one. A licensed healthcare provider needs to determine that the scan is medically necessary, write a referral, and in many cases your insurance company needs to approve it before you can schedule. The process typically takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on your insurance and how urgently you need the scan.
Step 1: Get a Referral From Your Doctor
A physician referral is required to schedule an MRI at virtually every imaging facility in the United States. Your primary care doctor, a specialist, or another licensed provider such as a nurse practitioner can order one. They’ll need a clinical reason: diagnosing a suspected tear, evaluating unexplained pain, ruling out a tumor, monitoring a known condition, or similar justification.
If you believe you need an MRI but your doctor hasn’t suggested one, bring it up directly. Explain your symptoms and why you think imaging would help. If your provider doesn’t think an MRI is warranted, they should explain what alternative next steps make sense. You can also seek a second opinion from another provider.
If you don’t have a regular doctor, some self-pay imaging services offer a virtual consultation (typically around $40) to pair you with a physician who can write the referral. This doesn’t replace an ongoing doctor-patient relationship, but it can get you access to the scan.
Step 2: Handle Insurance and Prior Authorization
Most health insurance plans cover MRIs at least in part, but many require prior authorization before the scan takes place. This means your doctor’s office submits a request to your insurer explaining why the MRI is medically necessary. They may need to document what other treatments or tests you’ve already tried.
Your insurance company reviews the request and sends a decision in writing to both you and your doctor. Standard reviews can take up to 30 days. If your situation is urgent, your doctor can submit an expedited request, which gets a response within 72 business hours. If authorization is denied, your doctor can appeal or provide additional documentation.
You don’t need to manage most of this yourself. Your doctor’s office handles the submission. But it’s worth calling your insurance company to confirm that MRIs are covered under your plan, what your copay or coinsurance will be, and whether the imaging center your doctor recommends is in-network.
If You’re Paying Out of Pocket
MRI costs in the U.S. range from $400 to $12,000 depending on the body part, the facility, and your location. The national average is about $1,325, though pricing experts suggest a fair price is closer to $750. Without insurance, expect to pay around $2,000. Freestanding imaging centers are almost always cheaper than hospital-based facilities for the same scan. Services like RadiologyAssist connect self-pay patients with lower-cost options nationwide. If you’re paying cash, call several facilities and ask for their self-pay rate. Prices vary dramatically even within the same city.
Step 3: Complete the Safety Screening
Before your appointment, the imaging center will ask you to fill out a safety questionnaire. MRI machines use extremely powerful magnets, so any metal in or on your body is a potential problem.
Certain implants and devices are absolute deal-breakers for a standard MRI. These include most pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, cochlear implants, certain neurostimulators, insulin or drug infusion pumps, metallic foreign bodies in the eyes (from grinding or welding, for example), cerebral aneurysm clips, and retained shrapnel or bullet fragments.
Other items require careful evaluation but don’t automatically rule you out. Joint replacements, coronary stents, IUDs, surgical clips, and wire sutures all fall into this category. Your imaging team will check the specific make and model of any implant to confirm it’s safe at the scanner’s magnetic strength. Medication patches need to be removed before the scan because some contain metallic backings that can cause burns. Tattoos less than six weeks old in the area being scanned may require rescheduling. And if you’ve had a colonoscopy within the past eight weeks, let the team know, since retained clips or capsule devices could be an issue.
Step 4: Prepare for the Day
Preparation depends on what part of your body is being scanned. For abdominal or pelvic MRIs, you’ll typically need to avoid eating for two hours before the exam. Clear liquids are fine, but skip coffee and dairy. For brain, spine, knee, or shoulder MRIs, there’s usually no fasting required.
Remove all jewelry, watches, hair clips, and any metallic accessories before the scan. Some facilities provide a gown; others ask you to wear comfortable clothing with no metal zippers, snaps, or underwire. Leave credit cards and electronics in the locker provided, since the magnet can erase card strips and damage phones.
Some MRIs require contrast dye, which is injected through an IV during the scan. This helps highlight blood vessels, inflammation, or tumors. If your scan involves contrast, the technologist will place a small IV line in your arm before you enter the scanner. Let the team know beforehand if you have kidney problems or a history of allergic reactions to contrast agents.
Managing Claustrophobia and Anxiety
A standard MRI machine is a narrow tube about 60 centimeters wide. You lie on a table that slides into it, and you’ll need to stay still for 20 to 60 minutes depending on the scan. The machine makes loud knocking and buzzing sounds. You’ll be given earplugs or headphones.
If you’re anxious about enclosed spaces, you have several options. The most common is oral sedation: your doctor prescribes an anti-anxiety medication that you take before arriving. You’ll need someone to drive you home afterward. For more severe anxiety, some facilities offer conscious sedation through an IV, which has a success rate of about 93.5% for completing the scan. General anesthesia is available in rare cases but is typically reserved for patients who cannot stay still at all, including some young children.
Open MRI machines are another option. These have wider openings or are open on the sides, which reduces the enclosed feeling significantly. The trade-off is that open MRIs sometimes produce lower-resolution images than closed machines, so they may not be suitable for every type of scan. Wide-bore MRI machines offer a compromise: they’re wider than traditional tubes but still fully enclosed, providing both comfort and high image quality. If your body size makes a standard machine too tight, ask about wide-bore options.
What Happens During the Scan
You’ll lie on a padded table, and the technologist will position you so the body part being scanned is centered in the machine. A coil (a specialized frame or pad) may be placed over the area to improve image quality. The technologist then leaves the room but watches you through a window and communicates through a speaker. You’ll have a call button to squeeze if you need to stop.
The scan itself involves multiple sequences, each lasting a few minutes. You’ll hear loud thumping, clicking, and buzzing as the machine works. Between sequences there are brief pauses. The most important thing you can do is stay still. Even small movements can blur the images and require repeating a sequence. For chest or abdominal scans, you may be asked to hold your breath for short intervals.
Getting Your Results
After the scan, a radiologist reviews your images and writes a report for the doctor who ordered the MRI. If your scan is done on a weekday and read the same day, the report is often available within a few hours. Scans completed over a weekend take longer, with a median turnaround of about two and a half days. Your ordering doctor then reviews the report, interprets what it means for your specific situation, and contacts you with results.
Many health systems now release radiology reports directly to patients through online portals, sometimes before your doctor has reviewed them. If you see your report and find the medical language confusing or alarming, wait for your doctor’s interpretation before drawing conclusions. Radiology reports describe every finding, including incidental ones that are completely normal variations.