An MRI can cost consumers between $300 to $1000, depending on the area of the body being scanned and the reason for the scan, the ADIA says.
Medicare subsidies for diagnostic imaging
For services listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), Medicare covers some or all of the costs of: CT scans. nuclear medicine scans. MRI scans.
Medicare almost always covers MRI scans as long as it has been ordered by a GP or a recognised medical specialist. They generally cost around $100 to $500 but you might not have any out of pocket expenses because it's often bulk billed.
In Australia, the cost of an MRI scan can range from $100 up to $500. However, Medicare will cover 100% of the cost if you are a public patient in a public hospital.
The average cost of a brain CT scan can range between $825 to $4,800, while a brain MRI cost tends to range from $1,600 to $8,400 on average.
MRIs are free for inpatients in public hospitals, or when bulk-billed at a radiology practice – providing you have a referral from a specialist or GP and your scan is a Medicare-eligible procedure.
More specifically, a brain or head MRI can show if there are any abnormalities in your brain or the surrounding tissues, including, but not limited to: Inflammation and swelling. Structural issues. Abnormal growths or masses.
Brain CT scans
A CT scan uses X-rays to produce images, unlike an MRI scan which uses magnetic fields and radio waves.
Generally, CT scans are better at spatial resolution, while MRIs are better at contrast resolution. That means CT scans are good at showing us where the edges of things are — where this structure ends and that other one begins.
A brain MRI usually takes between 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
MRI is capable of highlighting the anatomy of joint structures such as cartilage and muscles in great detail. At FMIG we can bulk bill specific MRI scans referred by GPs, which fulfil the Medicare criteria. Click here for Medicare details and item numbers. Please ask your GP if you are eligible for a bulk billed scan.
Who can refer me for an MRI? In Australia, all primary health care practitioners can refer people to have MRI scans. This includes general practitioners [GP], chiropractors, physiotherapists, osteopaths, podiatrists, dentists, and medical specialists.
Expensive to Buy and Install
MRI machines must be installed in magnetically sterile clean rooms that eliminate outside interference while protecting people and property outside the room from the magnetic fields. This can push the installation cost alone up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Brain – indications include stroke, temporal lobe epilepsy, infection, inflammation, tumour, multiple sclerosis (MS), dementia, post-trauma, metabolic disorders, congenital malformations, internal auditory canal pathology, vascular pathology, pituitary fossa pathology, nerve palsies and metabolic disorders.
There is no need for you to be referred to us by a GP or medical consultant. You can easily refer yourself for an MRI scan by completing our online form. Simply tell us about the reason you want the scan, the part of the body that you want scanned and answer some safety questions.
MRI gives very detailed pictures of soft tissues like the brain. Air and hard bone do not give an MRI signal so these areas appear black.
A brain MRI can help doctors look for conditions such as bleeding, swelling, problems with the way the brain developed, tumors, infections, inflammation, damage from an injury or a stroke, or problems with the blood vessels. The MRI also can help doctors look for causes of headaches or seizures.
MRI is able to image the structure of the brain, which changes in dementia, to a very high resolution. For example, a characteristic sign of Alzheimer's disease is atrophy (shrinking) of a brain region called the hippocampus. This can easily be seen on an MRI scan and is currently used to aid diagnosis.
It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks for the results of an MRI scan to come through, unless they're needed urgently.
How long does a head or brain MRI take? Depending on the focus of the scan, a head or brain MRI generally takes 30 to 60 minutes.
According to cancer.net, an MRI is the most effective diagnostic tool for detecting a brain tumor in most cases.
The inflammation can be measured in several ways. First, it can be seen on an MRI scan of the brain. Areas of inflammation take up a contrast agent called gadolinium, and show up brightly on MRI. When inflammation occurs, there is an increase in certain kinds of molecules called cytokines.
Eye abnormalities visible on MRI exams have been reported but there is limited research on the nature and frequency of these abnormalities. To find out more, the French Society of Neuroradiology (SFNR) initiated a study of 129 patients with severe COVID-19 who underwent brain MRI.
Neurological uses include the diagnosis of brain and spinal cord tumors, eye disease, inflammation, infection, and vascular irregularities that may lead to stroke. MRI can also detect and monitor degenerative disorders such as multiple sclerosis and can document brain injury from trauma.