ARA Diagnostic Imaging – Cedar Park

Doctor says «Go get a mammogram» and recommends this place. Sure — whatever. Then call this place to schedule and they try high pressure sales tactics to get me to get the 3D-​mamogram, but insurance won’t cover it because it is not proven safe. Finally get a normal mamo, then they force me back with scare tactics for their «required» 3D mamo, that insurance still won’t cover, and I specifically said I did not want.
DO NOT TRUST THESE PEOPLE
…and they miscoded the paperwork to the insurance company (HUMANA) at least once, before I got involved between the two.

If you are on Medicare and you receive a bill for the full amount of whatever you had done please check to see if any other payments have been made the insurance or whatever. The last two times I have been to ara they billed me the full amount and did not even apply to Medicare. If you have a question about whether Medicare received a bill from any of your medical providers you can call the number on the back of your Social Security card.

Ridiculous waiting time and time between services. Was here for two simple, routine procedures. Arrived early and waited an hour past my appointment time. Then an hour between services. All told three hours. It should not take that long. Two stars because the people were nice. But seriously. Ridiculous.

Privacy goes out the window once you are in the back room with a cover on and are waiting with other women who are the same (either waiting for mammograms or ultrasounds).
The tech came in the room with the other patients present and talked about my medical situation in a dismissive tone. I then watched and listened over the next 15 minutes as one woman was told she had a cyst and another was told she needed an ultrasound since the mammogram given did not give them what they wanted.
I believe the staff are friendly, their intent is to do the right thing and the appointment ran smooth.
However in today’s day and age I believe in patient privacy. It appears to be lacking.

I went to ARA today for a diagnostic mammogram. I was extremely nervous; however, the great staff at ARA put my worries at ease, and helped me to feel very comfortable. Also, I was in and out as scheduled. Thank you ARA!

First time at this location. Very nice front desk and clean offices. Here for mammogram and MRI.

Short version: clear your schedule.
Long version: Nothing new as compared to other Unilocal posters I’m afraid. Clearly the same old slowness problems. So come here on a day when you don’t have anything else going on because it could balloon into a big chunk.
Things went okay for me with a friendly staff, procedure itself was predictably unpleasant but tolerable. However, as the other reviews implied you’re going to wait … and wait… and wait. I wish I’d looked up the Unilocal reviews ahead of time. 1.5 hours in I was hoping it was almost over, but it ended up taking almost 3 hours in the middle of my day for a procedure just over 15 minutes. That’s a comfortable 12:1 ratio for those of you keeping score. 10:1 if you don’t count changing into their definitely-​no-​metal-​in-​this-​gown.
Recommendations to avoid the wait:
1. Call back and confirm your appointment time. Call the facility and not ARA’s main number and you’ll get through immediately. For my part either they gave me the wrong time or I wrote it down wrong, but it’s the same outcome.
2. Ignore their request to get there like 30 mins early to fill out paperwork. It’s not true. You only need 10 mins unless you’ve got some crazy detailed medical history or you want to read the forms in their entirety. Even then.
3. Don’t leave the lobby and don’t let them *think* you’ve left the lobby. I stepped out because I arrived early on top of the above two items and then evidently didn’t check in with the woman at the front so I got bumped back in queue.
4. Don’t be nice. Check in often and early. Tell the staff you have somewhere you have to be.
TO THE OWNERS:
* Location staff: even if you think one of the people in the waiting room has stepped out, call out their name anyhow.
* ARA: You really need some kind of text or email confirmation system like most other major medical services. Also please contract out someone else to do your garbage phone system.

I gotta say I was pretty skeptical of this place from reading the reviews on here. But after going myself, I was treated promptly and with complete professionalism.

Every time i have been here the staff has been extremely friendly! It is always clean. They have free coffee in the waiting room.
Evening apts available as my scan was at 9pm.
I’ve had several MRIs here and a few mammograms. No matter what you’re having done the staff make you comfortable.
I highly recommend.

Friendly staff, very professional.
Have had numerous procedures at this location.
Clean facilities, good coffee in the waiting room.

Needed to go for more imaging after routine mammogram. Originally scheduled for Friday the 27^th. I called on Monday the 23^rd… expressed the anxiety I was having. They got me in on the 25^th. I was a wreck walking in. Everyone there was awesome calming me down. I got in at scheduled time. They were thorough and empathic. Had 3D imaging and ultrasound. Everyone that I encountered was just great.

Both times I have been to this location I have waited 45 minutes past my appointment time. If I have enough respect for them to be on time and even early to my appointment, they should respect my time enough to be on time. Especially for an 8:00 appointment where they haven’t even had time to get behind yet.

We were told we didn’t need an appointment, so brought our 17 month old very sick little boy for a «quick» chest xray just before 11am and were not seen until 12:40pm because they were only staffing ONE xray technician. Hello people? Are you kidding me? I hope you enjoyed my son screaming in your office for 2 hours. UNACCEPTABLE. If you haven’t noticed, we are living in a slightly overpopulated city so please show some respect and staff your pretty facility or allow people to make appointments. RIDICULOUS!

I had a few tests there and they have been okay. They are very expensive though.

I’ll give this Cedar Park ARA 2 stars because we have had several x-​rays done here for various family members and they haven’t been too terrible.
My last apt was for an Open MRI for a ruptured lower disc. I am very claustrophobic so I asked a couple of times to be sure I was scheduled for the, «Open» MRI, they assured me I was. We arrived at 10am because my apt was for 10:30. But the girl behind the counter tells me, «your apt is actually at 11am, the schedulers do this a lot to make sure people aren’t late.» What? They lied to me about my apt time so I wouldn’t be late? That’s really not right. Sigh.
So, now we’re there. We settled in and waited and waited and waited. After 1 ½ hours I checked to see what was up and was told the tech was running 45 minutes behind (make that an hour). Great. So we wait and wait another hour. Now, we’d been there 2 ½ hours by the time I was called back.
They gave me a gown and a teeny crappy curtain covered corner to change in. Everyone from the front desk to the nurses was very cold and robotic, not friendly. Including the tech who came to retrieve me. She walked me into a cramped room with an MRI that is NOT open on the sides. I said, «WHOA… (panic filling my lungs) I am supposed to be in an *open* MRI.» She says, «It’s Open-​ish.»
Open-​ISH?!
I proceeded to tell her my Dr and everyone I spoke to had reassured me it was open on the sides. She replied, «We haven’t had a true open MRI in 3 years, your Dr needs to update his records.» At this point, my family and I had been there for 3 hours, I did not want to just leave without trying. She points out the extra space above where my head would be so I hesitantly gave in. She did not help me to lay back so I fell backwards (remember, lower back pain so it’s hard to move) onto the hard metal and hurt my shoulder. *ouch. She starts putting me in the machine and I freaked. It was all I could do not to run out the front doors in my airy hospital gown and bare feet. I grabbed my shoes, tears splashing down my face and told her I couldn’t do it. The machine was NOT open like I had been told. I got dressed quickly, sobbing the whole time and rushed out. Stopping long enough to tell the front desk I couldn’t go through with it and motioning for my family. At least at this point, the staff was finally showing a bit of humanity and asking if I was okay. Which I was not.
ARA is a cold, sterile place with impatient staff and an overburdened schedule. Worst of all for people like myself — they do NOT have an Open MRI, even though they still claim they do. Don’t do that to yourself. If you’re claustrophobic, go SOMEWHERE else.

The staff was very nice and friendly. Unfortunately they are like every other doctor’s office in the world. I had an 12pm appointment and was told to be there at 11:30am to fill out paperwork and get undressed into the gown. I arrived at 11:20 and was done with paperwork and dressing at 11:50am. I asked how long the wait was and she said you are next. I was not seen until 12:35pm (after I was told it would only be 15 more minutes once). What is worse is I brought a book to read and you are told to put your stuff in lockers. I wish they would have mentioned the almost 1 hour late and how they were really behind today. OR they could have been courteous and gave me a call to let me know they were running late and to come in 45 minutes later if possible. No respect for people’s time whatsoever, unfortunately, which is the norm in the medical industry. Fun to explain to my boss why my 1 hour lunch break took 2.5 hours.
Again — staff was very friendly and courteous.

With my son’s knee injury we will be spending some time here off and on over the next few weeks.
From check-​in to x-​ray to leaving our time on-​site was 20 minutes. That was a big win in my playbook. The tech staff we encountered were 5 star awesomeness. Great personalities. Fantastic with my son and even cracked a few jokes with him.
Reason for the 4 star rating. The front desk staff. They’re not very friendly, they seem more irritated you’re there making them work, and they will finish a personal conversation about their personal lives before they look up and acknowledge your existence. When I asked a follow-​up question I apparently irritated their side conversation (again).
I watched someone else walk up to check in and one of the girls literally moved herself to look around him to see what the answer was on Jeopardy playing on the TVs in the waiting room. Yeah, that’s customer service… *sarcasm*
At least I know what to expect when we are back over there for the MRI.

They made my appointment for when the tech was not even there! So I sat for an hour not knowing that til I asked wth?! Lame staff

Staff was very friendly, outgoing and helpful — they never for a moment made me feel uneasy or uncomfortable.

Shame I cannot leave less than 1 star… ARA staffing needs training… I waited 40mins at the Anderson Mill location when they figured out I weigh more than 350lbs weigh close to 500 so really cannot be mistaken…
As far as this location on Cedar park when I arrived I was told, during check-​in it would be a 1.5 to 2hr wait. There were 4 people waiting to be assisted in front of me and 4 in after me well not the 4 before but all 8 were served before I was… I was LIVID
Ridiculous, yes I was being x-​rayed for SSI Disability without insurance but being treated with such disrespect and humiliation I hope someone of importance i.e. AMA or related will read and be made aware of how the ARA treats their customers… F–