Waiting a week for an X-ray appointment shouldn’t be the norm — especially when you’re in pain, worried about an injury, and just need an answer. It’s one of the most frustrating parts of navigating the healthcare system: your doctor hands you a requisition, and then you’re left wondering how long it will take to actually get the scan done. At Annex Medical Imaging, walk-in X-ray and ultrasound is available for most exams — no appointment required. You walk in, you’re seen by a certified technologist, and your results are with your doctor within 24 to 48 hours.

This post walks through exactly what “walk-in” means in practice, which exams qualify, what to bring, and what happens from the moment you arrive to the moment your report lands on your doctor’s desk.

What Walk-In X-Ray and Ultrasound Actually Means

Walk-in access means you don’t need to call ahead, book a time slot, or wait days for an opening just to get an X-ray. You simply arrive during clinic hours with your requisition (or without one, in many cases — more on that below) and a technologist will see you, typically the same day. Some exams, particularly certain ultrasounds, may be scheduled within 1–2 business days if the clinic is busy, but you’re never looking at the multi-week waits that are unfortunately common at hospital-based imaging departments, where routine outpatient studies often take a back seat to emergency and inpatient cases.

It’s worth understanding that “walk-in” doesn’t mean “no structure.” Patients are still seen in a sensible order — generally first-come, first-served, with adjustments made for urgent cases flagged by a referring physician. The goal is simply to remove the booking bottleneck, not to remove the process that keeps care organized and safe.

Do you need a referral to walk in?

This is one of the most common questions we get, and the honest answer is: it depends on the exam. For many X-ray studies, no referral is strictly required to be seen, though your doctor will still need a report to act on your results, so having a requisition in hand streamlines everything. For ultrasound, mammography, and bone density (BMD) testing, a requisition from a physician or nurse practitioner is typically needed for the exam to be covered under OHIP. If you show up without one, our front desk can advise you on your specific situation immediately, including whether you can be seen as a self-pay patient or whether you should get a requisition from your family doctor or a walk-in medical clinic first.

If you’re uninsured or don’t have a current OHIP card, private-pay options are available for most exams — we’ve covered the specifics of costs and what to expect as an uninsured patient in a separate post, since pricing and procedure differ meaningfully from OHIP-covered visits.

What to bring with you

• Your OHIP card (or private insurance information if uninsured)
• Any requisition or referral form from your doctor, if you have one
• A list of current medications, especially if you’re coming in for an ultrasound or vascular study
• Comfortable, easy-to-remove clothing for the area being imaged — avoiding heavy jewellery or metal near the exam site speeds things up
• A face mask if you’re feeling unwell, out of consideration for other patients and staff

Step by step: what happens during your visit

Arriving at Annex Medical Imaging is straightforward. You’ll take the elevator to the 3rd floor, Unit 304, and check in with reception, where staff will confirm your information, your requisition (if you have one), and your OHIP eligibility. From there, you’ll typically wait in a comfortable waiting area until a technologist is ready for you.

Once called in, a certified technologist will confirm the exam being performed, ask a few quick screening questions (especially for ultrasound or if there’s any chance of pregnancy before an X-ray), and explain what to expect. Most X-rays take only a few minutes of actual imaging time, though positioning for certain views can add a few extra minutes. Ultrasounds typically run 15–45 minutes depending on the area being examined and how much needs to be documented. Throughout your visit, you’ll be cared for by Royal College-certified radiologists and experienced, credentialed sonographers and technologists.

Which exams are truly walk-in, and which need scheduling

Not every exam works exactly the same way, so here’s a general breakdown:

• X-rays: Almost always walk-in, same-day, no appointment required
• General, obstetric, and vascular ultrasound: Often same-day; scheduled within 1–2 business days when the clinic is busier
• Mammography (including OBSP screening): Frequently bookable directly, sometimes same-day depending on availability
• Bone mineral density (BMD) testing: Usually scheduled a few days out with a requisition in hand

When results are ready

Reports are typically sent to your referring provider within 24 hours for urgent cases and within 24–48 hours for routine studies. It’s important to know that Annex Medical Imaging doesn’t release results directly to patients — your ordering physician receives the official report and will follow up with you to explain the findings and any next steps. If you haven’t heard back from your doctor within a few days of your scan, it’s reasonable to follow up with their office directly.

Walk-in imaging vs. the emergency room vs. waiting for a hospital slot

For non-emergency situations — a persistent ache, a suspected minor fracture, a follow-up scan your doctor wants — a walk-in imaging clinic is usually faster and less stressful than an ER visit, where imaging is prioritized behind trauma and acute cases, and often faster than waiting for an opening at a hospital’s outpatient diagnostic imaging department. Reserving the ER for true emergencies also means you avoid unnecessary wait times and keep those resources available for patients who need them urgently.

You walk in, you’re seen by a certified technologist, and your results are with your doctor within 24 to 48 hours.

Why walk-in imaging matters

Faster access to diagnostic imaging means faster diagnoses and faster treatment decisions. If you’ve been putting off an X-ray or ultrasound because you assumed you’d need to book weeks in advance, our Bathurst and Bloor location — a 1-minute walk from Bathurst Station — is open Monday to Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 9am–3pm. Just walk in.