ARA Diagnostic Imaging – Austin Center Blvd

I was scheduled for a wrist and hand MRI. I got there and was charged almost $600. No notice. When I was brought back, I was told they will only image my hand. I would need another appointment and to pay another $600 for the wrist that was supposedly denied because they wrote the request for arm not wrist. It was extortion for an extra $600. I was charged. Never got my MRI. These people are criminals. Stay away.

ARA is not the place you want to go if you have any questions about billing or insurance questions. It takes upward of 20 minutes to just get through to a person and once you do, they follow protocol and do not care about your questions or needs. Very rude. Try River Ranch Radiology instead. Like day and night!

I’ve had imaging done at Austin Radiological many, many times through the years and at several locations in the Austin metro area. What can I say, I’ve been trapped in a badly conceived body since birth.
Note: While I’ve always been sickly, I’m not a complainer and have pretty low expectations, that is, it’s hard to get me disappointed enough to write bad reviews of anything… movies, restaurants, doctors… only done it a few times in my life and I’m over 50.
That being said, the overall experience was never great at Austin Radiological but it has gotten much worse in the last couple of years.
Check-​in is always a toss up, sometimes bearable but other times unbelievably difficult.
Staff (at check-​in and after) is sometimes disorganized, sometimes not but always near contemptuous of any special needs such as physical disability or symptoms that limit a patient’s ability to sit quietly for extremely long wait times or to follow instructions immediately and to exact specifications. This even happens before receiving instructions during the actual imaging itself, which of course is expected since imaging quality (MRI, CT Scan, X-​Ray, etc.) demands being still, holding breath, etc., exactly to instructions.
Overall:
Badly organized.
Consistent failure to consider even the most basic concerns of the patient/​client. Much huffing, puffing and rolling of eyes by staff.
Systemic problems of unknown origin that result in startling levels of confusion and unhappiness in the check-​in staff. This is apparent at all of the locations I’ve visited in this area.
Why do I keep going back? My various doctors default to them and I learned not to rock the doctors’ boat decades ago.

My wife and I have come to ARA for multiple MRIs and even a lumbar puncture over the last year. The reception, scheduling and overall customer service here is terrible. Staff is unprofessional, rude, sarcastic, and disorganized, including, at times, the nurses and doctors.
We have interacted with ARA SO many times and each time at least one or two things go wrong, consistently. I no longer trust them. Please avoid this place if you have a choice.
— Nurse WALKS in on my wife when she is changing.
— Nurse assumed my wife was addicted to narcotics and caffeine because we had a bottle of these pills in my bag (she wasn’t even taking them).
— Nurse talks to my wife like she is a child, while neglecting to tell us vital information such as where the lumbar puncture takes place, that it involves an x-​ray, and that I would not be allowed to be there.
— Doctor causes unnecessary pain and suffering during a lumbar puncture
— When we requested anti-​anxiety medicine for an MRI, they FORGOT it.
— Gave us paperwork for an MRI when we are doing a lumbar puncture.
— Did not have copies of our results ready when they promised they would.
— Rude, poor communicators.
— Forgot to tell us to arrive early to fill out required paperwork.
— I requested to accompany my wife in her MRI. Later, the nurse says she hasn’t been told this fact, and proceeds to tell me that I can’t be there (yes, I can).

I had a CT scan done here recently, and although medical procedure are not always pleasant, it was handled very professionally. The receptionist was welcoming and informative. The tech person/​nurse (not sure of the proper term) who did the procedure, Marijo, was excellent. She was warm and friendly and explained each part of the procedure. She made me feel very at ease the entire time.

Does the danger of wondering, when filling out medical forms, if you have some internal screw or staple from a procedure many tears ago you forgot about, that may get torn from your body, excite you?
Do you enjoy an hour spent listening to noises that sound like what would happen if your scratched «The Prodigy» CD mated with the office fire alarm?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a sensory deprivation tube where the punishment for movement is having to do it all over again?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, an MRI may be for you.
But you can’t blame ARA for any of that. They’re just doing what they do.
We had to reschedule once waiting for a green light from insurance (which they called to get, not us, in a process that did seem to waste our and their office’s time a little bit, with several calls and a last second cancellation). But my wife’s MRI itself went off today without a hitch, and the tech seemed good at his job. We showed up at the requested «30 minutes early», but were processed without delay. Now, being «in the room» is a bit overrated, as I was close enough to see, but not close enough to actually comfort the wife during her procedure.
They also provide X-​rays and CAT-​scans here. And getting these services must make folks hungry, since there are vending machines right by the check-​in desk. Add the über-​droney Austin news channel and a fish tank in the waiting area, and what else could you ask for?
I’ll post a followup review if there are back-​end or billing issues to mention, but for today: «A-​OK».

I had an appointment for an MRI. I admit I was told to arrive 30 min. early for «paper work» and I arrived a few min less than 30 min early, still plenty of time for «paper work». When I walked in, there was not another patient in the facility, I was told if I was late for «paperwork» and I would need to reschedule. Needless to say the attendant was rude and acted like she was FBI, KGB or what ever!
I will get my MRI but it will not be an ARA facility.

I was scheduled for an MRI by my doc. I might have been the only patient in the place. The process was pretty straight forward. I hadn’t had an MRI before so it was different. If you’ve had one you’ll know what I mean. The process uses sound, I suppose like sonar. They give you ear plugs. The more cooperative you are the quicker it’s over. Any fidgeting and they have to restart so I just stayed still.
The staff was pretty good. I don’t need or want a bunch of hand holding. You can tell they’re used to dealing with a bunch of ninnies. «Do you have any questions?»,“Let us know if you have any concerns”, etc. JUST DO IT! ;)
It worked out pretty good. The results were really cool. It was like a 3-​D soft tissue X-​ray. My doc was able to Move back and forth through the results with a mouse. The staff at ARA had already marked it up with little arrows.
I assume that everyone going there is based on their doc’s referrals. Its hard to know what write for a review. No body is just going to walk in off the street for service. Anyway, it worked out well for me.

I made an appointment for a virtual colonoscopy at the Far West location. I was instructed to call two days before my appointment to make sure the staff had checked to make sure my insurance would cover the procedure. When I did so, I was told, very rudely, «That’s not something we do – you have to call your insurance company yourself. We’re not going to do that for you, it’s not our job.» In actual fact, that IS their job. Providers contact insurance companies all the time about whether or not procedures are covered; I should know, I’ve worked in the health care industry for over six years. Whoever this person was, she was lying, and lazy, and these are not traits I desire in staff who are involved in procedures like the one I was about to have – which, by the way, requires EXACTLY the same prep as a ‘real’ colonoscopy. Just in case you were wondering…
I cancelled my appointment, and, if I can possibly avoid it, will never use ARA again, especially not at that location.