WE ACCEPT ALL REQUISITIONSX-RAY · WALK IN OR BOOK AHEADSELF-REFER FOR DEXA & 3D/4D ULTRASOUNDSELF-REFER FOR OBSP MAMMOGRAMSWALK-IN X-RAY AVAILABLE416-462-0064
The things nobody tells you before an imaging appointment.
Straight answers, including the ones people are embarrassed to ask. If yours is not here, call 416-462-0064.
No answer for that one yet.Call 416-462-0064. Our call centre is open Monday to Thursday 8am to 6pm, Friday to 5pm, Saturday to 4pm.
Booking your appointment
How soon you can be seen, and what you need first.8 ANSWERS
Most appointments are available within 48 hours, and many clinics have same-day openings. Walk-in X-ray needs no appointment at all. Arrive during opening hours with your requisition and we will take you as you come. If your doctor marked the request urgent, call 416-462-0064 and we will find you the first opening across all ten clinics.
Yes, at every Bluewater Imaging clinic that offers X-ray: 123 Edward Street, Eglinton Avenue East, Etobicoke, Keele & Ingram, Lawrence & Dufferin, Scarborough, Woodbridge, Belleville and Port Hope. Walk-ins are welcome during the clinic's regular hours; bring your signed requisition and Ontario health card. University Heights does not offer X-ray. Other exams are by appointment.
An OHIP-covered ultrasound needs a requisition from your doctor or nurse practitioner, so it cannot be booked on your own. Three exams can be: a screening mammogram, if you meet the Ontario Breast Screening Program criteria (women aged 40 to 74, among other rules), a 3D/4D keepsake ultrasound, and a DEXA body composition scan. The last two are self-pay.
For OHIP-covered imaging, yes. We accept a valid requisition from any licensed Ontario healthcare provider, on any form, from any clinic or hospital. Three things you can book yourself with no requisition at all: a screening mammogram if you meet the Ontario Breast Screening Program criteria, a DEXA body composition scan, and a 3D/4D keepsake ultrasound.
Yes, and most patients should. If your requisition lists an ultrasound and an X-ray, or a mammogram and a bone density scan, we book them back to back at one clinic so you come in once. Send a request online and our call centre will contact you to confirm your appointment.
Call 416-462-0064 or reply to your confirmation message at least 24 hours before your appointment, at no charge. Cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice, and missed appointments, have a $50 fee. If you paid online, the rest of your payment is refunded within 5–10 business days.
The one easiest for you to reach, all ten follow the same protocols and the same radiologists read the images. Send a request online and our call centre will contact you to confirm your appointment.
Yes. A family member, caregiver or your doctor’s office can book for you. We just need your name, health card number and a phone number where we can reach you. If someone books for you, bring your own health card and requisition on the day.
What your visit is like
Exactly what happens, from the front desk to the door.8 ANSWERS
Your health card, your signed requisition, and a list of your current medications. If you are having a mammogram, bring the date and place of your last one. That is it, no forms to print, no paperwork to prepare.
Plan on 15 to 45 minutes for the exam itself depending on the type, plus arriving 15 minutes early to check in. An X-ray is about 10 minutes, an ultrasound 20 to 45, a mammogram 20, bone density 15. If you booked more than one exam we tell you the total when you book.
You check in at the front desk with your health card and requisition, then wait in a seated waiting area, not a hallway. A registered technologist calls you by name, takes you to a private room, explains what she is about to do and answers your questions before starting. When the images are done she checks them for quality, and you are free to go.
Always. Your technologist walks you through each step before it happens and tells you what you will feel, so nothing is a surprise. You can ask her to stop or slow down at any point, and you can ask questions throughout, she would much rather explain twice than have you lie there worried.
Yes, bring someone with you to the clinic and they are welcome in the waiting area. Whether they can be in the exam room depends on the exam: some allow it, others do not, for privacy and radiation-safety reasons. Your technologist will tell you when she takes you in. If you need help changing or moving, tell us when you book and we will make arrangements.
Yes, all ten are wheelchair accessible with accessible washrooms, and our tables lower for easier transfers. Tell us when you book if you use a wheelchair, need help transferring, or need extra time, and we will schedule a longer slot so nobody is rushed.
Our staff speak a range of languages across our clinics, and our preparation instructions are available in eleven languages. You are also welcome to bring a family member or friend to interpret. Tell us when you book which language you prefer and we will do our best to match you.
Only as much as the exam needs, and only in a private change room. For an abdominal ultrasound you simply lift or lower clothing at the waist. For a mammogram or chest X-ray you undress from the waist up and wear a gown that closes at the front. For bone density you usually stay fully dressed. You are never left uncovered or waiting in a public area in a gown.
Comfort, privacy and safety
The things patients tell us put their mind at rest.7 ANSWERS
Most are not. An ultrasound is warm gel and gentle pressure from a handheld probe. Nothing enters your body and nothing is injected. An X-ray you cannot feel at all. Bone density is simply lying still on an open table. A mammogram involves firm compression for a few seconds per image, which is briefly uncomfortable for most women, tell your technologist and she will pause, reposition and take it at your pace.
Yes. Ultrasound uses sound waves with no radiation at all, which is why it is used throughout pregnancy. X-ray, mammography, bone density and fluoroscopy use very low doses, a chest X-ray is roughly the natural background radiation you receive over a few days. Every exam is performed only with a doctor’s request and at the lowest dose that produces a clear image.
Tell us before your exam and we will make the right call with you, never assume you must go ahead. Ultrasound is completely safe in pregnancy. For X-ray, fluoroscopy, mammography or bone density we will either shield you, reschedule, or confirm with your doctor that the exam is still the right choice. We ask every patient who could be pregnant, every time.
Yes, and you should tell us. It is one of the most common things we hear. Our rooms are open, not enclosed tubes, so there is nothing to feel closed in by. We can book you a quieter time of day and allow extra time so nothing feels rushed, and your technologist will stop at any point if you need a moment.
Your images and reports are covered by Ontario’s health privacy law and shared only with you, the provider who ordered the exam, and anyone you specifically authorize. Nothing is used for marketing. Change rooms and exam rooms are private, and staff use your name only where other patients cannot overhear.
For mammography your technologist is always female. For ultrasound and other exams, ask when you book and we will accommodate the request wherever staffing allows. If it cannot be arranged for your chosen time, we will tell you honestly and offer another slot.
None of these prevent the exams we offer, there is no strong magnet involved. Tell your technologist about breast implants before a mammogram, since we use a different technique and allow 30 minutes instead of 15. For X-ray and bone density, we simply ask you to avoid clothing with zippers and snaps, or change into a gown.
Your results
Who sees them, how fast, and how you get a copy.4 ANSWERS
Your images are read by a specialized radiologist and the report reaches your referring provider within 24 to 48 hours, same day for urgent cases. Your doctor reviews the findings with you in the context of your health, which is why the results go to them first.
Yes. Through our PocketHealth partnership you can access your images and reports on your phone or computer, keep them permanently, and share them with any specialist or second opinion, including outside Ontario. You do not need to request a CD or come back to the clinic.
She cannot give you results, and that is not because something is wrong, technologists are not licensed to interpret images, and a partial answer in the moment often causes more worry than it relieves. A radiologist reviews every exam properly and your doctor explains what it means for you.
Call 416-462-0064 and ask for the film library, or share them yourself through PocketHealth in a few taps. We routinely send prior imaging to specialists, surgeons and out-of-province physicians at no charge to you.
Cost and coverage
What OHIP pays for, and what it does not.4 ANSWERS
With a valid requisition, OHIP covers ultrasound, X-ray, mammography, bone mineral density, echocardiography, fluoroscopy, biopsy and fertility imaging, in full. There is no co-payment, no facility fee and nothing to claim back. Screening mammograms through OBSP are covered even without a requisition.
Only elective services OHIP does not consider medically necessary: DEXA body composition scans ($129) and 3D/4D keepsake ultrasound (from $99). These are always your choice. The price is shown before you book, and you save 10% by paying online. Nothing else on our menu costs you anything with a requisition.
For OHIP-covered exams there is nothing to bill, OHIP pays us directly. For elective services you pay us and we give you an itemized receipt with the service codes your extended health, HSA or wellness plan needs. Most plans reimburse body composition scans; check yours before you book if that matters to you.
You can still be seen if you are new to Ontario, visiting or between coverage. Without OHIP you pay the self-pay price from our cash fee schedule, on the Insurance & Billing page: for example a chest X-ray is $85, an abdominal or pelvic ultrasound $145, a carotid Doppler $150, a mammogram $95, a bone density test $194 and an echocardiogram $380 (October 2026). Cash services are HST exempt. Call 416-462-0064 and we will quote your exam before you commit; you will never receive a surprise invoice from us.
Still unsure? Book anyway.
You can change or cancel up to 24 hours before, and we will walk you through the exam when you arrive. Nobody at Bluewater will rush you.
