Every MRI sent to AstraRad is read by a fellowship-trained subspecialist in that anatomy: neuroradiologists read brain and spine, MSK radiologists read joints, body imagers read abdomen and pelvis, cardiac imagers read cardiac MRI. Final signed reports return in under 24 hours for routine studies, under 4 hours for urgent, and under 1 hour for STAT, with a median STAT turnaround of 28 minutes and 99.4 percent SLA compliance over the trailing 12 months. Pricing is per report, no minimums, no subscriptions, and coverage runs 24/7/365 across 12 time zones.
That is the whole offer. The rest of this page explains how the routing works, what the reports look like, and how the numbers hold up.
Every MRI goes to a subspecialist, not a general queue
MRI is the modality where subspecialty matters most. A lumbar spine with a subtle conus lesion, a postoperative knee with graft signal change, a liver MRI with an indeterminate arterial-phase lesion: these are different disciplines, and a generalist reading all three at 2 a.m. is where misses happen.
AstraRad's panel is 240 board-certified, fellowship-trained subspecialists, and MRI routing is anatomic by default:
| MRI study | Routed to |
|---|---|
| Brain, spine, head and neck, MR angiography | Neuroradiology |
| Knee, shoulder, hip, wrist, ankle, extremity | Musculoskeletal (MSK) radiology |
| Abdomen, pelvis, liver, prostate, MR enterography | Body imaging |
| Breast MRI | Breast imaging |
| Cardiac MRI, function and viability | Cardiac imaging |
| Pediatric MRI of any region | Pediatric radiology |
Routing is automatic. You do not tag studies or request a specific reader; the worklist matches modality, body part, and clinical indication to the correct subspecialty panel. Because readers are distributed across 12 time zones, an overnight brain MRI in Ohio is morning work for a neuroradiologist somewhere on the panel, read fresh, not at the end of a shift.
MRI turnaround times: three tiers, one published SLA
MRI turnaround follows the same three-tier SLA as every study type we read. The tiers are contractual, not aspirational, and compliance is measured continuously.
| Tier | Contracted turnaround | Typical MRI use |
|---|---|---|
| STAT | Under 1 hour | Cord compression, cauda equina, acute stroke protocol MRI |
| Urgent | Under 4 hours | Same-day surgical planning, inpatient MRI, expedited oncology staging |
| Routine | Under 24 hours | Outpatient MSK, spine, body, and breast MRI |
Median STAT turnaround across the network is 28 minutes. Over the trailing 12 months, 99.4 percent of studies met their contracted tier. The full measurement methodology, including how the clock starts and what happens on the rare miss, is documented on our service level agreement page. If your acute workload is CT-heavy rather than MRI-heavy, the same tiers apply to STAT CT reads.
You choose the tier per study at submission, and the priority multiplier for STAT and urgent work is printed on the rate card, so there is never a surprise on the invoice.
Final reads, overreads, and second opinions
Most MRI teleradiology arrangements fall into one of three read types, and it is worth being precise about which one you are buying.
Final reads. The default at AstraRad. The subspecialist who reads the study signs the report as the interpretation of record. The reading radiologist is licensed in the state where your patients are located, so the report goes straight into the chart and the billing workflow with no local co-signature required.
Overreads and second opinions. A formal re-interpretation of an MRI that already has a report, common for oncology patients transferring care, complex spine cases before surgery, and quality programs that sample outside reads. We read with the prior report and comparison imaging in view and issue a complete signed report, not a memo.
Preliminary reads. A wet read intended to be finalized by your own group later. We support this workflow where a client wants it, but for MRI we recommend finals: the value of a subspecialist read is diluted if a generalist finalizes over it.
If the distinction matters for your billing or credentialing setup, our guide to STAT vs preliminary vs final reads walks through the operational and reimbursement differences.
What the QA numbers look like
Turnaround speed without quality control is just fast noise. AstraRad runs a standing double-read program: 1 in 20 reports is independently re-read by a second subspecialist, blinded to the first interpretation. The major discrepancy rate across that program is under 0.3 percent, and every discrepancy is adjudicated and fed back to the reading radiologist.
MRI reports follow structured templates by study type. A lumbar spine report addresses each level; a prostate MRI reports PI-RADS; a liver study reports LI-RADS where applicable; cardiac MRI includes quantified function. Critical findings, cord compression being the classic MRI example, trigger a direct communication workflow to your designated contact, documented in the report.
Delivery is standards-based: HIPAA and GDPR compliant transport, DICOM conformant, with HL7 or FHIR report delivery into your RIS or EHR. Studies come to us as DICOM from your PACS or through portal upload, and there is no integration project required to start.
What does an MRI teleradiology read cost?
AstraRad prices MRI per report. No minimums, no subscriptions, no platform fees, no monthly commitment. Send one study a month or ten thousand; the unit economics are the same, and the priority multiplier for STAT and urgent tiers is printed on the rate card rather than negotiated case by case.
MRI rates vary by study class: single part, advanced, and cardiac MRI are priced separately, reflecting reading time and subspecialty depth. Industry-wide, published teleradiology rates for MRI interpretation typically run higher than CT or plain film because of that reading time, and per-study fees across the market vary widely by contract structure. We do not publish a public price list because volume and mix genuinely change the number, but we will put ours in writing: request a rate card via contact and you will have it within one business day.
For a broader look at how per-report pricing compares to salaried coverage and subscription platforms, see our teleradiology cost guide, and the pricing page explains the model end to end.
Capacity: overflow, backlogs, and full MRI coverage
MRI backlogs build quietly. A scanner running extended hours, a radiologist out on leave, a new orthopedic group referring in: routine MRI turnaround slips from one day to four, and referrers notice.
AstraRad currently has headroom for 25,000 additional studies a month across the network, and a backlog of 8,000 studies clears in under 30 days at standard routine pricing. Common MRI engagement shapes:
- Overflow. Your radiologists keep their normal worklist; MRI above a threshold routes to us automatically. See overflow radiology reads for how groups structure this.
- Subspecialty gap coverage. You have general coverage but no MSK or neuro fellowship on staff, so those MRI studies route to our panel while everything else stays in-house.
- Nights, weekends, and holidays. 24/7/365 coverage means a Saturday night stroke-protocol MRI gets the same neuroradiologist-level read as a Tuesday morning one.
- Full MRI outsourcing. Every MRI from a center or mobile fleet, read final, per report.
None of these require an exclusive contract. Volume can scale up for a backlog month and back down afterward without renegotiation.
Getting started
Two paths, both fast. If you have a PACS, we receive DICOM directly; if you do not, portal upload works from day one. Either way there is no integration project, no software licensing, and no onboarding fee. Request a rate card through contact, send a pilot batch of MRI studies, and judge the reports yourself against the numbers on this page.