Health Images — Diagnostic Imaging for Post-Accident Care

Your managing physician has ordered imaging. The clinical examination identified findings, including nerve tension signs, restricted motion, and radiating symptoms, that warrant visualization before the next treatment decision is made. Health Images operates 18 Colorado locations serving patients at all five CCC clinic areas.

This isn't routine screening. Every imaging referral is clinically driven. Your physician is looking for specific answers to specific clinical questions.

Provider Contact

Website: healthimages.com Phone: 303-699-2200

What Health Images Offers

Health Images provides the full spectrum of diagnostic imaging used in post-accident care:

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

MRI is the most common advanced imaging ordered for car accident patients. It visualizes soft tissue structures that X-ray cannot see: intervertebral discs, ligaments, nerve roots, and muscles. When your physician suspects disc herniation, nerve root compression, or ligament injury, MRI provides the anatomical detail needed to guide the next treatment decision.

Health Images operates high-field MRI systems with the resolution required for accurate diagnosis of spinal soft tissue injuries.

CT Scan (Computed Tomography)

CT provides detailed bone imaging through cross-sectional views of the spine and joints. Ordered when fracture patterns are complex, when the extent of bone injury needs more detail than X-ray provides, or when spinal stenosis requires characterization before intervention planning.

X-Ray

X-ray is typically the first imaging modality ordered: fast, widely available, and effective for assessing bone alignment, identifying fractures, and evaluating spinal curvature. Cervical spine X-ray with flexion-extension views can assess ligamentous stability in whiplash patients.

Ultrasound

Diagnostic ultrasound for soft tissue evaluation, including tendons, bursae, muscle tears, and peripheral joint structures. Used when MRI is contraindicated or when real-time dynamic imaging of a structure in motion provides diagnostic information MRI cannot.

Fluoroscopy

Real-time X-ray used to guide interventional procedures. Health Images provides fluoroscopy for diagnostic and therapeutic injections performed by pain management specialists, a separate capability from diagnostic imaging but available through the same network.

Locations

Health Images operates 18 Colorado locations, covering the Front Range from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs:

• Aurora — 1411 S. Potomac St., Suite 200, Aurora, CO 80012
• Boulder — 1000 Alpine Ave., Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80304
• Brighton — 499 S. Airport Blvd., Suite 100, Brighton, CO 80601
• Broomfield — 400 Nickel St., Suite 130, Broomfield, CO 80021
• Castle Rock — 4340 Ridgeline Dr., Suite 250, Castle Rock, CO 80109
• Colorado Springs (North) — 7385 Templeton Gap Rd., Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80923
• Colorado Springs (South) — 3010 N. Circle Dr., Suite 120, Colorado Springs, CO 80909
• Denver (Downtown) — 999 18th St., Suite 1250, Denver, CO 80202
• Denver (Southeast) — 8200 E. Belleview Ave., Suite 130E, Greenwood Village, CO 80111
• Englewood — 3600 S. Yosemite St., Suite 200, Englewood, CO 80111
• Fort Collins — 2121 E. Harmony Rd., Suite 250, Fort Collins, CO 80528
• Greeley — 1900 16th St., Suite 100, Greeley, CO 80631
• Highlands Ranch — 9348 Dorchester St., Suite 110, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
• Lakewood — 1155 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Suite 100, Lakewood, CO 80232
• Littleton — 8200 S. Quebec St., Suite 100, Centennial, CO 80112
• Longmont — 2135 Amherst St., Suite 100, Longmont, CO 80503
• Loveland — 2555 E. 13th St., Suite 100, Loveland, CO 80537
• Westminster — 7995 W. 121st Ave., Suite 200, Westminster, CO 80021

The 18-location network means imaging is available near each of CCC's five clinic locations (Aurora, Lakewood, Loveland, Westminster, Colorado Springs) without requiring patients to travel across the metro area.

When CCC Refers to Health Images

Your managing physician orders imaging based on clinical findings, not as a routine screen. Referral criteria include:

• Persistent or worsening symptoms despite conservative care: Pain that isn't improving as expected, symptoms that are progressing rather than resolving, or new neurological findings that develop after the accident.
• Clinical signs suggesting structural injury: Positive nerve tension tests (straight leg raise, upper limb tension tests), significant spinal tenderness, radicular pain following a dermatomal pattern, or motor and sensory deficits on examination.
• Pre-procedure imaging for interventional pain management: Before fluoroscopically guided injections, imaging establishes the structural baseline and guides procedure planning.
• Baseline documentation for complex or high-velocity accidents: High-energy collisions with rollover, airbag deployment, or significant vehicle damage may warrant early imaging to establish a structural baseline even when initial symptoms are limited.

How Imaging Results Integrate with Your Care

The referral to Health Images is one step in a coordinated process:

1. Clinical determination. Your physician identifies specific clinical questions that imaging can answer. The referral is targeted, such as "rule out disc herniation at C5-6 with nerve root compression," not a blanket "MRI of everything."
2. Coordinated scheduling. CCC coordinates the imaging appointment at the Health Images location most convenient for you. Scheduling includes any necessary prior authorizations.
3. Imaging study. The Health Images technologist performs the ordered study. Most MRI and CT appointments take 30-60 minutes.
4. Radiologist interpretation. A radiologist reviews the images and produces a formal report. This report is sent directly to your managing physician.
5. Clinical integration. Your physician reviews the radiologist's findings in the context of your full clinical picture: symptoms, examination findings, treatment response to date. This integration is what matters. Imaging findings mean something different interpreted by a physician who knows your case than they do read as a standalone report.
6. Treatment plan adjustment. Imaging may confirm the current approach, prompt modifications, or indicate the need for specialist referral. A disc herniation compressing a nerve root may prompt interventional pain management referral. Normal imaging in a patient with persistent axial pain may indicate the need for diagnostic injections that identify pain sources imaging cannot detect.

Frequently Asked Questions