Richfield Today
Supports "for a country way of life"                   
On any given day this site receives more than 150 hits
  • Welcome
  • About Us
    • Quote of the Day
  • RT Blog
  • Governments
  • Contact Us
  • Links
  • Events Calendar

Smart Choice MRI provides look inside, Business opening in Richfield, offers $600 flat rate

1/22/2014

0 Comments

 
By AMANDA VOSS   Daily News Staff

RICHFIELD — Smart Choice MRI started in Milwaukee to provide residents with a cost effective way to get MRIs. The company is bringing that same formula to Richfield to save Washington County residents money on diagnostic imaging services.

Kristin Stoll, director of marketing for Smart Choice, said the business started in 2006 by former radiologists at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.

“It came out of a personal story. One of our founding member’s father was suffering from cancer, so what our founder saw was an egregious use of radiology,' Stoll said. “They would increase the price of radiology to offset the cost of emergency rooms, cancer pavilions and cardiac care.”

“What happened was he said ‘Well, I think I can do this at a more cost-effective rate.’” The first clinic was in west Milwaukee.

The cost for an MRI at Smart Choice is $600 and it’s a flat rate for all exams whether patients have insurance or are self-funded.

Stoll said the average cost for an MRI in Wisconsin last year was about $3,000, and between their Milwaukee and Sheboygan locations, they have saved residents about $60 million since Smart Choice MRI opened in 2006. “So, it’s a significant savings given that we’ve seen over 40,000 patients in our time,” Stoll said.

John Hosni of Cedarburg used Smart Choice MRI in Milwaukee because he was having issues in his right elbow because of a workrelated injury. He said he wanted to get a second opinion and his doctor ordered an MRI, but it wasn’t covered through worker’s compensation insurance. Hosni asked if he could go to Smart Choice MRI.

“Everything about it was easy and cheap. Everyone was great to work with,” Hosni said.

The MRI at Smart Choice MRI in Richfield is energy efficient GE Healthcare Signa HD 1.5T MR. She said it’s the state-of-the-art piece of equipment.

“It’s better than what most hospitals have and it’s really a fantastic piece of equipment,” Stoll said.

Stoll said an MRI is really a giant camera. MRI is short for magnetic resonance imaging and an MRI is a medical imaging procedure that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waives to produce cross-sectional images of organs and internal structures of the body. An electrical current is passed through coiled wires to create a temporary magnetic field around a patient’s body.

Radio waves are sent from and received by the transmitter in the machine. The signals produce digital images of the area of interest, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

MRI machines are tube-shaped magnets and the average scan lasts 35 minutes, Stoll said.

She said five employees will be hired to serve patients at Smart Choice MRI in Richfield.

Stoll said patients are referred to Smart Choice MRI by a doctor and people typically get MRIs for sports-related injuries. She said neurologists also send patients to Smart Choice MRI to look for conditions like Parkinson’s disease or tumors.

Smart Choice MRI, 3010 Helsan Drive, is slated to open Jan. 30 in Richfield. Richfield was chosen because Smart Choice MRI grew in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and Stoll said they reached capacity in Milwaukee.

“It’s the 41/45 interchange. It gives access from people from Fond du Lac and we can serve the community here in Washington County, which is very important,” Stoll said.

Hosni said he would encourage Washington County residents to check out Smart Choice for financial reasons and it does the same job as the hospital would do.

“We’re really excited to be here and open the doors and be another resource for the community,” Stoll said.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About

    RT Blog will let you know the latest happenings around Richfield.

    Archives

    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    2014 Election
    2015 Election
    2016 Election
    2017 Election
    2018 Election
    2019 Election
    2020 Election
    Business News
    Government Topics
    Just News
    Local Events
    Political Posts

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from xbouwman, Pink Sherbet Photography, rumimume, VLMPO, roberthuffstutter, andreavallejos, steakpinball