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You’ve probably seen or heard the advertisements
promoting full-body scans available at hundreds of imaging centers
around the country. You’ve probably also heard the controversy
surrounding the scans and how they’re used. Some advertisers
claim having a body scan can “save your life!” While many
medical professionals advise against them for people without symptoms.
“The medical community may not endorse body scans,”
says Dennis Sousley, director of Radiology at St. Mary’s Hospital
of Blue Springs, “but people want them. We’re responding
because we feel we can offer many advantages over some of the stand-alone
centers.”
The biggest advantages St. Mary’s Hospital can
offer are price, convenience and reputation. “We already have
and use the equipment and trained staff to perform diagnostic studies,”
says Sousley. “We can offer this service for less than many
other providers.”
“We also have board certified, practicing radiologists
reading the scans on site,” says Sousley. “Some of the
for-profit centers rely on physicians reading scans from a remote
location. Our radiologists follow up with the individuals’
own physicians–and if they don’t have a physician, we
can help them find one.”
The multi-slice CT scanner is used extensively for some
emergency patients and cardiac patients and it is very good at seeing
what’s going on in the organs, arteries and blood vessels.
The scans can show calcium deposits that could lead to heart disease
or cancers very early in their most treatable stages.
Most insurance plans will not cover the cost of a body
scan for someone who does not show any symptoms. The price of a
heart scan is $250; it’s $400 for a body scan and $550 for
both. While body scans do a good job of providing images of many
internal organs, medical professionals stress that the scan may
not catch early disease that is too small to be seen and does not
replace regular physical exams. The scan may also find harmless
irregularities that worry patients needlessly and require more testing.
For more information, or to make an appointment call 816-655-5515.
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