Imaging departments schedule in fixed blocks. An MRI slot is typically thirty to sixty minutes of machine time booked weeks in advance, and there is no flexibility to absorb a late arrival. Missing it usually means waiting for the next available appointment rather than being squeezed in.
Preparation adds pressure. Contrast studies require arriving early, some scans require fasting, and paperwork and metal screening take time before the rider even reaches the changing room.
Jomia books imaging trips with a larger arrival buffer than a standard clinic visit, and drivers are told which building houses the scanner rather than which hospital.