Get an MRI Order Online in Alaska

Why Alaska Patients Search for a MRI Order Online

Alaska presents the most geographically complex healthcare access challenge of any state in the DOD service area. With a landmass larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined, and a population of approximately 740,000 spread across communities separated by hundreds of miles of roadless wilderness, tundra, and mountain ranges, the concept of "driving to your primary care doctor for an imaging order" is simply not applicable for a large proportion of the state's residents. Anchorage — home to nearly half of Alaska's population — has a functional outpatient imaging market with multiple independent centers and hospital-affiliated imaging departments at Providence Alaska Medical Center and Alaska Regional Hospital. Patients in Anchorage can find self-pay MRI options and are the most likely Alaska residents to benefit from the standard DOD workflow: find a cash-pay imaging center, need a provider order, get it through DOD. The Eagle River, Wasilla, and Palmer communities in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley are growing rapidly and share Anchorage's imaging infrastructure. Fairbanks — Alaska's second-largest city — serves a large Interior Alaska population including military personnel stationed at Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base, oil field workers rotating in from the North Slope, and university students at University of Alaska Fairbanks. These patients may have employer-provided or military healthcare coverage but find that civilian outpatient imaging scheduling is faster for specific needs and still requires a civilian provider order. Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and other Southeast Alaska communities rely heavily on Alaska Airlines for medical travel to Anchorage or Seattle. When these patients need an MRI for a back injury, knee problem, or neurological workup, the cost of medical travel is substantial. A DOD consultation can be completed from home in Juneau without any travel, and if the patient does travel to Anchorage or Seattle for imaging, the order is ready. Kodiak Island, the Kenai Peninsula (Soldotna, Homer, Kenai), and southwestern Alaska communities have similarly limited local imaging capacity. DOD provides the virtual order review step regardless of where in Alaska the patient is located. Diagnostic Orders Direct is based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and provides virtual consultations for eligible Alaska patients. DOD does not operate physical offices or imaging centers in Alaska.

How the Order Process Works in Alaska

Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley have the strongest independent outpatient MRI capacity in Alaska, including hospital-affiliated and independent centers. Fairbanks has regional hospital outpatient imaging. Juneau, Sitka, and Southeast Alaska communities have limited outpatient MRI but access to facilities via medical travel to Anchorage. DOD can fax or email orders to any Alaska facility when appropriate and accepted.

Alaska Communities

DOD serves patients across Alaska. Patients in or near these communities may use DOD for mri order online requests:

DOD does not operate physical offices in these cities. All consultations are virtual.

Facility Types in Alaska

DOD orders may potentially be used at the following types of facilities in Alaska, subject to each facility's acceptance policies:

DOD is not affiliated with any Alaska imaging facility or laboratory. Facility acceptance is not guaranteed. Always confirm directly before scheduling.

What the Order May Include

Frequently Asked Questions — MRI Order Online in Alaska

Other Diagnostic Order Services in Alaska

Related Guides