Scan Medical Insurance

anyone had a body scan/ultrasound from one of the mobile units? are they worth the money? legitimate? thanks?

Public Comments

1. It really depends, The healthcare system I worked for had them when there were remodeling the building. They are really the same. Most insurances will charge the same regardless because of contracted rates. Now make sure they are affiliated with a medical center and ask your family doc about them if you want to check if they are legit. Your best bet would go to your hospital radiology department or the contracted partner.
2. Where I work, we have and iLook US system. It works very well and is very portable. I think it depends more on the operator and how skilled they are at using and reading the device, as well as what you are trying to look for and where.
3. Two issues: 1) The units themselves are legitimate, work, and can scan decently. They are rarely a replacement in quality for more permanently placed structures. Many hospitals use them temporarily while building or moving, so in that case they are fine. 2) There are roving medical units which pull into each city and charge very little ($100) for CT scans of the body. Why not do this, just to be safe? Many reasons: if you are healthy currently, the odds of finding anything serious are extremely low, so save your money. Yes, I know that someone's Aunt Joan did it and found an early asymptomatic cancer and it saved her life. While this is great for Joan, it does not justify performing CT scans on a 1000 people just to detect one patient's cancer. Second, radiation exposure to CT scans is coming under fire. When ordered appropriately they are fine, but cumulative exposure to xray radiation is a potential problem. Lastly, and IMHO most importantly, most abnormalities detected on these "routine scans in healthy people" are "false positives." They ARE abnormalities, but they are benign. VERY COMMONLY we see adrenal gland tumors (adenomas) or kidney or liver cysts for example which are completely benign. Now think about it: you get this scan because you want to detect cancer early; the doc gives you these results of a "probably" benign spot on your liver. What are you gonna do? Most people want a cancer consult or want that thing diagnosed. Well this requires a biopsy, a potentially painful needle puncture of the abnormality. Of course it may come back "negative" (but did you miss it?), or positive, or non-diagnostic (in which case you need to do it again). Or it might come back all clear yet you develop a post-procedure infection or complication, all for nothing. See the picture here? On an emotional level, it is hard to argue about that case regarding Aunt Joan above. On a public health perspective, these mobile city-to-city scans are scams which prey on peoples' fears about cancer. The vast majority of "problems" they find are benign, yet require significant expenditure to pursue, also pain and much worry, again all for nothing. It is not ethically or morally justifiable to expose so many to that to help only a few (although if you are one of those few, you would certainly have an argument, just not a justifiable one). Best bet is to get regular checkups and see your doctor if you have problems. God bless, best wishes