The first thing to know: in BC you cannot order your own imaging. X-rays, ultrasounds, CT and MRI all need a requisition from a doctor or another authorized provider. There is no showing up at an imaging clinic and asking for a scan the way you might order a menu item. The good news is that getting the form is easy: a family doctor, a walk-in clinic, a UPCC, or a telehealth doctor can all write one after assessing you.
One exception: breast screening
Women 40 and older can book a screening mammogram through the BC Cancer Breast Screening Program without any requisition, free of charge. That is for screening when you have no symptoms. If you feel a lump or have pain, that is a different, diagnostic workup, and it does need a doctor's requisition.
X-ray: usually walk-in, no appointment
Once you have the form, plain X-rays are the simplest stop. Most hospital outpatient imaging departments and community imaging clinics take X-ray patients on a walk-in basis: bring the requisition and your BC Services Card, and arrive well before closing, as outpatient windows can close early when the emergency department is busy. The clinic can only perform exactly what the form asks for.
Ultrasound: appointment only, and triaged
Ultrasounds are by appointment only. The imaging department reviews your requisition and books you by priority: urgent cases within a day, others across bands that run from a few days to one to two months, and routine cases can wait longer. Follow the preparation instructions you are given (fasting, or arriving with a full bladder); if you show up unprepared, the test often cannot be done and you will be rebooked. Some exams, such as pregnancy ultrasounds, are booked on their own schedule.
CT and MRI: hospital-based, longer waits
CT and MRI are mostly done in hospitals, always with a requisition, and are triaged more strictly. Non-urgent MRIs typically wait months (BC's median for MRI is roughly 19 weeks; see the specialist referral guide). If your symptoms change while you wait, tell the ordering doctor; your priority can be reassessed.
Who tells you the result
Reports go to the doctor who ordered the test, not to you at the imaging desk. This is the catch for people without a family doctor: before you leave the walk-in clinic that ordered your scan, agree on how the result will reach you, and who follows up if something shows. Imaging done in a hospital often also appears in your Health Gateway record days later, but plan around the ordering clinic, not the app.
Too long to wait? Private options
Private imaging clinics in BC sell faster access: an ultrasound is typically a few hundred dollars, an MRI around a thousand or more, priced by the clinic. Before paying, ask the ordering doctor whether the result would change your treatment, and note that a private scan for something MSP covers may mean any follow-up surgery or specialist care still joins the public queue.