MRI safety, done properly
Pacemakers, ICDs, neurostimulators, cochlear implants, aneurysm clips, metallic foreign bodies and occupational metalwork exposure asked systematically and documented — days before, not at the door.
Specialty · Radiology
Nobody turns up unprepared, and no critical finding sits.
Scan preparation and safety screening before arrival, contrast and renal checks, no-show recovery for high-value slots, and critical finding communication that closes the loop.
- 62%
- Fewer scans cancelled on arrival
- 100%
- Safety screens completed pre-arrival
- < 15 min
- Critical finding to referrer contact
In the product
Imaging prep — MRI lumbar spine
ScreeningOutbound 14:10 · Frank D. · 74 · MRI L-spine Thursday 08:40 · no contrast
Primum
A few safety questions before Thursday. Have you ever had any surgery involving metal — clips, plates, pins, or a pacemaker?
Caller
I've a pacemaker in since 2019, yes. Nobody asked me that when they booked it.
Cardiac device declared → scan held · model lookup required · radiologist flagged
Primum
That's exactly why we ask early. Do you have your device card? I need the make and model.
Caller
It says Medtronic Azure XT DR MRI SureScan.
MR Conditional device confirmed · cardiac physiology notified · protocol adjusted, slot retained
Safety record
- Study
- MRI L-spine · Thu 08:40
- Device
- Pacemaker declared
- Model
- Azure XT DR MR SureScan
- Status
- MR Conditional
- Physiology
- Notified · attendance arranged
- Slot
- Retained
Screen documented 14:19 · radiologist approved protocol · patient informed
Overview
A scanner hour is the most expensive empty hour in the building.
- Safety screening completed and documented before the patient travels.
- Contrast and renal checks resolved in advance, not in the corridor.
- Critical findings communicated to a named referrer, with acknowledgement recorded.
An MRI slot lost because the patient has a pacemaker nobody asked about, or ate breakfast before a fasting study, or did not know they needed someone to drive them home, costs more than any administrative saving anywhere else in the department. And the safety screen done in the corridor, minutes before the scan, is the worst possible time to discover an implant.
Primum runs the preparation and the safety screening in the days before the appointment: implants, devices, metalwork, claustrophobia, renal function for contrast, fasting, pregnancy status, escort and transport. At the other end it handles critical findings — contacting the referrer, confirming receipt, and escalating if nobody acknowledges.
Capabilities
Protecting the slot and closing the loop
The two ends of a radiology pathway, both of which are phone work.
Contrast and renal checks
eGFR currency, metformin handling, prior contrast reactions and allergy history resolved in advance, with anything unresolved routed to the radiologist before the appointment.
Slots recovered, not lost
Confirmation contact on a schedule, and any cancellation immediately re-offered to the waiting list by clinical priority. A vacated MRI slot is usually refilled the same day.
Critical findings, acknowledged
Urgent findings communicated to the named referrer, with the contact attempt, the acknowledgement and the timestamp recorded — and escalation if nobody picks up.
How it works
Booking to acknowledged report
The preparation happens early enough for a problem to be solvable.
- Arrives
- Decided
- Done
- Returned
01
Scan booked
Modality, protocol, contrast requirement and preparation rules determined from the request and the patient's record.
Protocol-aware
02
Safety screened
Full implant, device and metalwork screening, plus pregnancy status and claustrophobia, documented against the patient record before the appointment.
Documented pre-arrival
03
Prepared and confirmed
Fasting, hydration, medication holds, escort and transport confirmed, and attendance reconfirmed the day before with the slot released if it cannot go ahead.
Slot protected
04
Findings closed
Critical results communicated to the named referrer and acknowledgement recorded, with escalation until somebody has taken responsibility.
Loop closure
01
Scan booked
Modality, protocol, contrast requirement and preparation rules determined from the request and the patient's record.
Protocol-aware
02
Safety screened
Full implant, device and metalwork screening, plus pregnancy status and claustrophobia, documented against the patient record before the appointment.
Documented pre-arrival
03
Prepared and confirmed
Fasting, hydration, medication holds, escort and transport confirmed, and attendance reconfirmed the day before with the slot released if it cannot go ahead.
Slot protected
04
Findings closed
Critical results communicated to the named referrer and acknowledgement recorded, with escalation until somebody has taken responsibility.
Loop closure
Benefits
Utilisation up, risk down
The department's two hardest numbers.
Scanner utilisation improves
Cancellations discovered days ahead are slots that can be refilled. Cancellations discovered at the door are slots that are gone.
Safety screening is documented
A completed, timestamped screen attached to the record before arrival is both safer and the evidence an incident review asks for.
Critical findings do not sit
Acknowledgement recorded against a named clinician removes the gap where an urgent report waits in an inbox nobody opened.
In practice
Four scans, four interventions
Three protect the slot, one protects the patient.
Pacemaker found on screening
4 days aheadDevice identified during the safety screen. Conditional status checked, protocol adjusted with the radiologist, and the scan goes ahead safely.
eGFR nine months old
Bloods bookedContrast study requires a current result. Bloods booked for the preceding day and the scan protected.
No escort arranged
Caught day beforeSedation requires an adult escort. Discovered at the confirmation call, arranged, and the slot kept.
Critical finding, 16:50
Acknowledged 17:04Referrer contacted, unavailable, escalated to the duty consultant, acknowledgement recorded with a timestamp.
Read next
- Appointment SchedulingBooking, rescheduling and cancellation handled end to end against your live diary — with the right appointment type, the right clinician, the right duration, and the preparation instructions sent before the caller hangs up.Open
- OncologySymptom monitoring between cycles, neutropenic sepsis thresholds applied to every contact, treatment preparation, and coordination across the teams a cancer patient is under at once.Open
- Task ManagementResults to action, letters to file, forms to complete, calls to return. Every task created, prioritised, drafted and routed — with the ones a person must sign arriving ready to sign.Open
Count the scans cancelled at the door
Ask the department how many slots were lost last month to safety findings, fasting failures or missing escorts. We will run the pre-arrival screen on one week's list and you can compare.