Expert private imaging,
when you need it

Why a referral from your doctor helps you

MRI and CT scanners are powerful tools but not always the right first step. Your doctor can first examine you and work out what is likely to be causing your symptoms. Often the most appropriate investigation is not a complex scan but a straightforward blood test, X-ray, or a period of watchful waiting. If a scan is needed, your doctor can ensure it is the right type of scan of the right part of the body. A self-referred scan risks you paying for imaging that doesn't answer your question, or missing the investigation that would. Modern scanners are so sensitive that they frequently pick up things like harmless cysts or minor variations that would never have caused you any trouble. Studies of whole-body scanning have found incidental findings in roughly a third of people. Each of these discoveries can trigger further scans, specialist referrals, and occasionally invasive procedures such as biopsies - often to confirm nothing was wrong. Your doctor's referral provides important clinical context that keeps this in check.