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Free Health Talk May 17, 2013: Reducing Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Posted on Mon, May 06, 2013
  
  
  
  

Learn about reducing your risk of breast cancer at a free talk at Providence Hospital on May 17, 2013 in Anchorage.

 

Enjoy hot and cold hor d'oeuvres while hearing valuable information about reducing your risk of breast cancer. The talk takes place on Friday, May 17, 2013 in Anchorage, with guest speaker Julie Gralow, MD.

 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in U.S. women. Risks include hormone and reproductive factors, family history, lifestyle, and environmental exposures.

Julie Gralow, MD, will explain how various actions you can take have been shown to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. For women with a strong family history of cancer, genetic counseling and testing may be recommended.

Dr. Gralow will highlight a number of exciting new technologies for early detection of breast cancer currently in development and testing.

Come join us for a free health talk that focuses on risk reduction and early detection of breast cancer.

Friday, May 17, 2013

6:30 - 8 p.m.

Providence Alaska Medical Center

West Auditorium

(located by the cafeteria in the basement)

3200 Providence Drive, Anchorage

RSVP requested by May 15 to 907-212-6032

Julie R. Gralow, MD, with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, will speak on reducing your risk of breast cancer on May 17, 2013 in Anchorage, Alaska.Dr. Julie Gralow is director of Breast Medical Oncology at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance* and is a professor in the oncology division of the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Gralow has dedicated her life to fighting breast cancer. She's involved in research and caring for patients, has co-authored a book on breast cancer and exercise and has launched several cancer support organizations.

* The SCCA includes three of the top cancer centers in the world: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW Medicine and Seattle Children's. We would like to thank them for providing the hor d'oeuvres.

Download the Adobe PDF version of the flyer here.

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Free Breast Cancer Screening at Providence

Posted on Thu, May 02, 2013
  
  
  
  

Providence offers free breast cancer screening May 6-9, 2013.

 

Our bodies depend on us — and sometimes we need a reminder to take care of them before something goes wrong.

 
Women who are age 40-64 and meet certain income guidelines are eligible for a free mammogram at the Providence breast cancer screening. Take some time to schedule your mammogram today, and pass this message along to your friends and family. Your body will thank you for it!
 
Eligibility:

- Women who qualify under income guidelines
- Women who do not have insurance
- Women who have insurance that doesn’t cover a mammogram
- Women who have a high insurance deductible

 

Date: May 6-9, 2013
Time: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Providence Alaska Medical Center

 
By appointment only. Space is limited. Call us today at 907-212-7966.

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Dr. Heather Tauschek, Radiologist, and Imaging Center Detective

Posted on Fri, Mar 15, 2013
  
  
  
  

Dr. Heather Tauschek is Providence Imaging Center's medical director, and a radiologist "detective" in Anchorage, Alaska.Dr. Heather Tauschek is a general radiologist, breast imager, and current medical director of Providence Imaging Center in Alaska.

Sherlock Holmes intimidates me with his penetrating gaze and ability to reason 1000 possibilities in a second, with severe objectivity, while Dr. Watson’s down to earth wisdom and humor make me feel more normal. His compassion balances out Holmes’ intensity.

As a fan of the great detective, I endeavored to exercise some journalistic sleuthing to reveal a bit about Providence Imaging Center’s current medical director. While this portrait may be hastily sketched by an amateur, my hope is that it will serve to introduce the passionate and compassionate clinician who is Dr. Heather Tauschek.

Dr. Heather Tauschek brings the same rigor to every image that she interprets, and strives to be ever mindful that it represents a real person who may be gravely ill or injured, or anxious about a screening test result. If Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson were real and alive today (in one person), I think they might be a kindred spirit to Dr. Tauschek. They used powers of observation to discern much from lingering clues and behaviors, while she delves into the world of pixels, clinical data and regions of interest to ferret out facts about a patient’s health.

"The Game is Afoot (or a knee, or a spleen, or an artery)"

Once Holmes encountered a crime, his rallying cry to Watson was often “the game is afoot”. I suspect that Dr. Tauschek approaches each image she interprets with the same excitement and determination. Her main cap is that of working general radiologist for Alaska Radiology Associates. Translation: You’ll find her at one of six physical locations, reading studies from one of three imaging facilities, either during daylight hours or on call. She is also a wife and mother, artist, avid hiker and medical director for Providence Imaging Center.

This week she is sitting in our Anchorage location, in a dark room with large glowing screens detailing the anatomy of patients. Her job while here consists of interpreting all the fluoroscopy and stat x-ray exams performed on site, as well as the breast imaging performed at Providence facilities in Anchorage (well over 100 exams, many with comparison studies). In-between interruptions from people like me, she performs ultrasound- and stereotactically guided biopsies, needle localizations and ductograms, and the occasional sonogram of an infant’s hip. Then there are conversations with technologists about more specific images, calls on urgent results to providers, and setting patients at ease who came in from out of town to have an area of concern worked up. All this from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Curious Roots

What prepares someone for this kind of focus and workload? And could it ever be considered fun? According to Dr. Tauschek, it started with innate curiosity and an urge to share interesting things as a child. An object laying flat in her open hand would be thrust forward toward a listening adult with the exclamation “See?” However, the adult would hear it as “Squeek?”, and that led to her nickname and a lifetime of discovery. Growing up in Anchorage with a creative and hard-working family provided a beautiful setting to make numerous exciting discoveries.

“Squeek” was the one introduced to the Third World during two teenage mission trips where she labored on a hurricane shelter in Fiji, and an orphanage in India. “I went from a relatively sheltered Alaskan kid to someone who saw how drastically different the world could be. From seeing lepers who were missing thumbs or noses or hands, to the beautiful dignity of a woman who took pride in her one room hut covered in palm fronds—these experiences opened me up to the concept of altruism, and medicine seemed a natural fit,” said Tauschek.

Narrowing the Call

Which specific path would  she choose in the wide open field of medicine? Surgery was an initial consideration, but she discovered that the operating room environment was not to her liking. Inspiration was found to study internal medicine when she encountered two geriatricians who worked tirelessly to help their patients, even making house calls in New York City.

The Match changed all that. Every medical student has to choose a residency program by their fourth year, and it was time for her to apply. The first step was an essay application that started “I love Internal Medicine because….” And the words wouldn’t come. This student who enjoyed putting words on paper simply couldn’t pen a single sentence to answer the question. Thankfully, a classmate’s boyfriend suggested something that better fit her talents and skill set. Flash forward some months, and the mandatory “Match” application was completed in thirty minutes with just one minor re-write. “I love Diagnostic Radiology!” led to the birth of a Radiologist.

Her time at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College in New York City was not wasted: She won the American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Award for graduating top of her medical school class. A love of art competed for her attention as well, which led to a solo show in Manhattan. Her fourth year completed, it was off to residency at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St Louis for five years of specialty training in radiology. The adventurer and avid student was now married to her best friend John, whom she’d met back in college in Seattle, before finishing her undergrad work.  The warning Dr. Tauschek might issue to anyone who wants to remain unmarried: don’t get together with nerdy friends on Fridays to make soup and discuss books (at least not in Seattle).

 

 

Dr. Tauschek is a talented artist, as revealed by this commissioned watercolor piece depicting tulips.

 Dr. Tauschek enjoys painting watercolors when there is time.

 

 

The Compass Needle Swings: Time to Find Her Own 221B Baker Street

Dr. Tauschek’s compass was pointing a new direction, and that direction led back north and west. When brown winters in Missouri at Mallinckrodt made her pine for snowy white Alaskan ones, it was time to get back to her true north. She had signed up for specialty fellowship training in breast imaging when the perfect opportunity arose: Alaska Radiology Associates needed a new partner to share their growing workload. After completing a breast imaging fellowship, Dr. Tauschek arrived in Anchorage with her family in 2010. The Big Apple gave her the seeds she needed to grow into a radiologist, and they were ready for planting in the great Northwest.

Alaska Radiology Associates was happy as well. According to Dr. Denise Farleigh, leading breast imager and partner with Providence Imaging Center: “Heather works hard, maintains good relationships with clinicians, is respectful to clinical and clerical staff members, and provides excellent patient care. I could go on and on.......it would be hard to adequately express how grateful I am to have her as a valued colleague and friend.”

Heather and her family hiking in Wrangell St. EliasHeather and her family enjoy hiking in Wrangell St. Elias

Keeping the Job Fun

How is this artist/detective doing today? “Staying current in the field, pursuing the constantly evolving knowledge required to do this job well, and the thrill of the search keep my job fun,” shared Dr. Tauschek. And finding out what is going on inside patients sometimes feels like finding Waldo in a crowd of striped shirt wearers. “The way providers can make our job easier is to give us very specific clinical information,” according to Heather. “Any member of our radiologist group is happy to help pinpoint the best imaging study to order.”

 

These pulmonary nodules resolved as sequins upon closer examination by Providence Radiologist in Alaska.

These pulmonary nodules resolved as sequins upon closer look by Alaska Radiology Associates radiologist Heather Tauschek.

Details Matter

'It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.' Sherlock Holmes in A Case of Identity

Dr. Tauschek would agree with the Master Sleuth that details matter when it comes to interpreting a complex case. A recent example will illustrate the point. A pediatric chest x-ray from the Emergency Room revealed apparent calcified pulmonary nodules, an unusual diagnosis in a pediatric patient. She followed with a call to the technologist who confessed the patient was wearing a pink t-shirt, not a hospital gown, during the x-ray. Dr. Tauschek requested an x-ray of the shirt (in order to minimize the child’s radiation exposure), and the pulmonary nodules became something else entirely.

A spyglass pointed to the future

After reading about the exploits of the Great British detective, one notices that he savors the companionship of Dr. Watson, whose down to earth nature grounds Sherlock time and again. Dr. Tauschek shares a vision for balance and partnership with our magnifying glass wielding friend. “Imaging excellence and stellar customer service is a well-choreographed dance that requires two things:  safe acquisition of the best quality images, and providing the most relevant interpretations—all while providing outstanding service to each customer, from patients to physicians,” shares our medical director.

Does she think our clerical workers and technologists have what it takes to schedule appropriate exams and generate useful images? “Providence Imaging Center has fabulous staff,” she says, her steady gaze full of reassurance. “Their kindness, humor, and the quality of care they provide for our patients make me love coming to work every day.”

An answer like that removes any mystery about PIC’s destiny: We’re sure to help many more customers in the future. If you have a perplexing case that requires the assistance of someone who likes to delve below the pixels, give us a call: The door to 221B Baker Street is open for business.

 

 

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CT Lung Cancer Screening Offered at Providence in Anchorage

Posted on Mon, Feb 25, 2013
  
  
  
  

Providence’s Cancer Center in Anchorage now offers lung screening for high risk patients

Providence in Anchorage now offers lung screening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women. Most patients aren’t diagnosed until the disease has progressed and they are symptomatic. Lung screening is an opportunity to identify the disease earlier, when treatment is a viable option.

“When detected in its early states, lung cancer can be cured up to 80-90% of the time,” said Radiation Oncologist James Blom, MD. You can’t change your smoking history, but you can change your future.

The American Lung Association recommends lung cancer screening for people who:

  • Are current or former smokers, age 55 to 74, who averaged one pack a day for 30 years
  • Have no history of lung cancer

 

Providence now offers lung screening

As Alaska’s leader in health care, Providence is please to offer lung screening services. Call the Providence Cancer Center today at 907-212-LUNG (5864) to schedule your life-saving screening. Let their multidisciplinary team* guide you through the process.

 

* The Cancer Center's team may recommend a low-dose chest CT to help detect evidence of lung cancer. This self-pay exam offered at Providence Imaging Center in Anchorage is available to high risk patients who have a healthcare provider’s referral.

What is CT Lung Screening?

CT lung screening is a noninvasive, painless proecedure that uses low-dose x-rays to screen the lungs for cancer in just a few seconds. A CT lung screening allows the radiologist to look at different levels, or slices of the lungs using a rotating x-ray beam. It is performed on a multi-slice spiral computed tomography CT scanner and can detect smaller nodules or cancer than standard chest x-rays. A tumor or noducle is a mass of extra cells that grows on the lungs. It can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). By detecting malignant tumors in an early state with CT lung screening, intervention can occur at a time when the cancer is still curable and localized to the lungs.

How accurate is lung screening?

Recent studies (see links below) show that CT lung screening is more sensitive than standard lung screening methods (i.e. chest x-ray, sputum cytology) in detecting lung cancer. Unlike standard chest x-rays, CT lung screening takes cross-sectional images of the lungs. This allows the radiolgoist to see the lungs from top to bottom. Chest x-rays only show views of the lungs from the front and sides. With 3D imaging, CT lung screening can measure the growth of tumors in all directions whereas standard x-rays can only measure tumors at their widest point, preventing the radiolgoist from tracking changes in the volume of the tumor.

Providence Imaging Center is an American College of Radiology accredited facility that uses best practices for CT screening.

Providence Imaging Center is an American College of Radiology accredited facility that uses best practices for CT screening. 

CT screening conveniently located next to the Cancer Center

For patients coming from the Cancer Center, we are conveniently located on the main Hospital campus in the A Tower, reachable by traversing the skybridge that connects the two facilities. A member of our radiologist team will interpret the scan and report findings to the Cancer Center, and to any other healthcare providers you request.

Links to Web resources that explain CT lung screening

American Cancer Society

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lungcancer-non-smallcell/detailedguide/lung-cancer-non-small-cell-detailed-guide-toc

American Lung Association

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/lung-cancer/lung-cancer-screening-guidelines/

American Lung Association’s one page .pdf summary that is easy to print

http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/lung-cancer/lung-cancer-screening-guidelines/lung-cancer-one-pager.pdf

National Cancer Institute’s National Lung Screening Trial (NLST)

http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2010/NLSTresultsRelease

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Radiologist Scott Naspinsky MD Brings Musculoskeletal Proficiency

Posted on Mon, Jun 18, 2012
  
  
  
  

Scott Naspinsky MD, board-certified radiologist and MSK specialist, joins Providence Imaging Center in July 2012.

Providence Imaging Center introduces Scott Naspinsky, MD, board-certified radiologist with subspecialty training in musculoskeletal imaging and image-guided joint injections.

 

Board-certified radiologist Scott Naspinsky, MD, will join our team of radiologist partners at Providence Imaging Center. Beginning in July, he will return to Alaska as a full-time radiologist working for Alaska Radiology Associates (ARA), our imaging partner for over 25 years. Dr. Naspinsky will be one of two new readers who are fellowship-trained in musculoskeletal (MSK) imaging, bringing this subspecialty to our Center for the first time. His expertise will support our Eagle River, Anchorage and Soldotna imaging centers.

Dr. Naspinsky graduated cum laude from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA and went on to complete his medical degree from the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He interned at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, where he also completed his residency in Diagnostic Radiology. He completed his fellowship training in musculoskeletal radiology at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 2010.

Scott returns to Alaska after an active duty deployment at Elmendorf AFB from 2006-2009, when he also worked as a locum tenens radiologist for ARA. He later separated from the USAF and pursued fellowship training at Penn State in 2009. “Although it’s a little hard to move away from our families (in the Northeast), we’re eager to return to Alaska. It’s a wonderful place to raise our children and provides a great opportunity for us to enjoy a lifestyle with an emphasis on outdoor activities,” shares Dr. Naspinsky.

As a general radiologist at Elmendorf, a large part of his daily workload involved imaging the aches, pains and injuries of active men and women. He found the accurate diagnosis of these problems to be both challenging and intellectually stimulating, and decided to pursue additional training in musculoskeletal imaging and image-guided joint injections. ”There are very few radiologists in Alaska with specific training in MSK. [Our] expertise in this field combined with our top-notch facilities and equipment will allow us to provide our patients with this superior service that can’t be equaled by other providers.”

Scott will be making the move back to Alaska with his wife and three children. He enjoys hiking, skiing and reading, and is an avid fan of Philadelphia Phillies baseball and Penn State football. Between mastering the art of fishing, and winter weekends on snowmachines with friends and family, time will certainly pass quickly for this active family.

Media Contact: Nathan Switzer, Manager of Communications and Marketing at Providence Imaging Center • (907) 382-9185

 

 

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New Radiologist Christopher Reed MD Provides New Imaging Expertise

Posted on Wed, Jun 06, 2012
  
  
  
  

Christopher Reed, MD, new radiologist providing interpretations for Providence Imaging Center beginning July 2012

 

Providence Imaging Center introduces Christopher Reed, MD, board-certified radiologist with sub-specialty training in musculoskeletal imaging and musculoskeletal and spine interventions.

In July, Dr. Reed will join the eleven other radiologists of Alaska Radiology Associates (ARA) where he will interpret examinations for Providence Imaging Center locations in Eagle River and Anchorage. 

Dr. Reed and his family are returning to Alaska, where he served as a staff radiologist at Elmendorf Air Force Base from 2007-2011. Dr. Reed graduated summa cum laude from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and went on to complete his medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. He interned at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he also completed his radiology residency, distinguishing himself as his class' Top Graduating Resident. Dr. Reed recently completed his fellowship training in musculoskeletal imaging and musculoskeletal and spine interventions at Washington University's prestigious Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in St. Louis, Missouri. He enjoys nearly all facets of general radiology, but has a particular interest in offering high quality musculoskeletal and spine imaging and interventional services.  

Chris and his wife Amy are originally from the Great Lakes region. Shortly after college, they began vacationing to America’s National Parks. Their second trip together was to Alaska where they enjoyed a nearly two week road trip around Southcentral Alaska and a visit to Denali National Park. It was then that they decided to one day make Alaska their home.

The Reeds enjoy all of the things that make Alaska a perfect home for any family, including hiking, cycling, fishing and skiing. Amy is a pediatric intensive care nurse and has worked at the Children’s Hospital at Providence since 2007.

They won’t be on this adventure alone. As Dr. Reed shares, "During the summer of 2010 we were thrilled to welcome our daughter Sydney, and can’t wait to begin introducing her to all that Alaska has to offer.”

Media Contact: Nathan Switzer, Manager of Communications and Marketing at Providence Imaging Center • (907) 382-9185

 

 

 

 

 

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Celebrating 25 Years of Providence Imaging Center

Posted on Thu, Apr 19, 2012
  
  
  
  

Outside photo of Providence Imaging Center circa 1986

Here’s what our status would have looked like, from the perspective of a fly on our wall.

By Nathan Switzer

 

Providence Imaging Center timeline part one. Dr. Maurice Coyle and the Sisters of Providence collaborate on a new outpatient imaging center at Providence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve upgraded our 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're now able to provide Alaskans PET scans in State's first mobile PET-CT unit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Visit our new Eagle River location. We just opened at the north end of town, across from Spenard Builders Supply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Providence Imaging Center celebrates more than 25 years of imaging excellence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To download and view this article and the newsletter in which it appears as a .pdf, make sure you have Adobe Reader installed. 

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Free Breast Cancer Screening at Providence Imaging Center

Posted on Fri, Apr 13, 2012
  
  
  
  

Sign up for a free breast cancer screening event at Providence Imaging Center.Our bodies depend on us — and sometimes we need a reminder to take care of them before something goes wrong. Women who are age 40-64 and meet certain income guidelines are eligible for a free mammogram at the Providence breast cancer screening. Take some time to schedule your mammogram today, and pass this message along to your friends and family. Your body will thank you for it!

Eligibility:

Women who qualify under income guidelines

Women who do not have insurance

Women who have insurance that doesn’t cover a mammogram

Women who have a high insurance deductible

April 23-26, 2012
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Providence Imaging Center
By appointment only

Space is limited. Call us today at 907-212-7966.

This event is made possible by the Providence Alaska Foundation, Providence Imaging Center and CARRS/Safeway stores across Alaska.

 

 

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Upgraded Image Viewing Software Supports Windows 7 OS

Posted on Thu, Mar 22, 2012
  
  
  
  

Synapse is the PACS system used at Providence Imaging Center.Providence Imaging Center announces a recent upgrade to its image viewing software. Windows 7 users in clinician offices are now able to view images in Synapse 4.0

We’re pleased to announce that a recent upgrade to our PACS system (Picture Archiving & Communication System) occurred on March 19, 2012. Synapse allows clinicians with remote access to Providence records the ability to view their patient’s radiology images securely in their office. Until the upgrade, offices who were running Windows 7 as their operating system could not view these images, a source of frustration for many practices.

Supported Client Operating System and Internet Explorer Versions

XP Home Edition with SP2 or SP3, 32-bit only

IE 7, IE8

XP Professional with SP2 or SP3, 32-bit only

IE 7, IE8

XP Tablet with SP2 or SP3, 32-bit only

IE 7, IE8

Vista Home Premium with SP1 or SP2, 32-bit only

IE 7, IE8

Windows Vista Business Premium with SP1 or SP2 (32-bit only)

IE 7, IE8

Windows 7 Ultimate with SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

IE 7, IE8

Windows 7 Ultimate with SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

IE 7, IE8

Clinicians who would like to learn more about remote access at Providence Imaging Center should navigate to the "For Clinicians" page of our Web site at provimaging.com

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Cigna Added as In-Network PPO at Providence Imaging Center

Posted on Thu, Mar 22, 2012
  
  
  
  

Providence Imaging Center is pleased to announce that we are now an in-network PPO for Cigna insurance.

Providence Imaging Center is pleased to announce that we are now an In-Network PPO for Cigna insurance as of March 1, 2012. Cigna beneficiaries can obtain outpatient imaging services at any of our three locations with no out-of-network penalty. Find us in the convenient provider directory on Cigna’s web site at http://cigna.benefitnation.net/cigna/docdir.aspx

 

Providence Imaging Center is proud to accept all major insurance, and is an in-network preferred provider for:

  • Aetna
  • AlaskaCare *
  • Alaska VA
  • Blue Cross/Blue Shield
  • Cigna
  • First Choice Health
  • Medicaid/Medicare
  • Multi Plan
  • Providence Health Plans
  • Tricare

Cigna health insurance has added Providence Imaging Center as an in-network PPO.

Additionally, we are proud partners with the following organizations:

Our scheduling staff gladly assists with insurance pre-authorizations when required. If you want to learn more about insurance and billing at Providence Imaging Center, go to our Web site’s billing page.

* Patients should verify benefits coverage for the specific State of Alaska employees group.

 

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