Bone Density Scans in Montana: What a DEXA Measures and Where to Get One
To be clear at the top: Big Sky Imaging does not currently offer DEXA scans. We get asked about them often enough, and enough people find us searching for one, that leaving the question unanswered seemed worse than answering it plainly.
What a DEXA actually measures
DEXA stands for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. It passes two low-dose X-ray beams at different energy levels through bone and measures how much of each is absorbed. The difference between the two lets the machine separate bone mineral from soft tissue and produce a density figure, usually taken at the hip and lower spine.
The dose is low, the scan is quick, and the patient stays dressed and lies still on a padded table. Most of the appointment is setup rather than scanning.
Who is usually advised to have one
Bone density testing is generally discussed for postmenopausal women, for older adults of any sex, for people on long-term medications known to affect bone, and for anyone who has broken a bone from a fall that would not normally cause a fracture. That last group is the one we see the consequences of most directly. A fragility fracture is often the first sign that density was already low, which is a hard way to find out.
Whether a scan is appropriate for a particular person is a conversation with their provider. We are describing the general picture, not making a recommendation.
Where to get one in Montana
DEXA units are installed equipment, so they sit where imaging departments sit: hospital radiology departments across the state, plus a number of independent imaging centers and some women's health and orthopedic clinics in the larger markets. Availability is better than MRI availability, and the scan itself is inexpensive relative to most imaging, but it is still a drive for a lot of rural Montanans and it is still a scheduled outpatient appointment.
Cash prices for DEXA are among the more commonly published in Montana, so if cost matters it is usually worth asking a facility directly for its self-pay rate.
Why a mobile imaging company is writing about this
Because the population that most needs bone density testing overlaps almost exactly with the population that has the hardest time traveling for it. Residents of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities are, as a group, older, more likely to be on medications that affect bone, and more likely to have already had a fall. They are also the people for whom a routine outpatient appointment means arranging transport, staff time, and a day that is hard on them.
That gap is real and we are looking at it honestly. If bone density becomes something we can bring to the bedside, this page will say so and not before.
What we can do today
If a fall has already happened, the question is usually whether something is broken, and that is a plain X-ray question. We bring portable X-ray to care facilities and clinics, with same-day service standard in covered markets and most reads back the same day through our partner Rapid Radiology. It sits alongside the rest of what we offer. That is the piece of this we can actually help with, and in winter it is most of what we do. We wrote about that in winter falls and fragility fractures.