The verdict in three sentences
For a radiology group running four imaging sites, the website's first job is to absorb exam preparation calls, which make up 35 to 50% of front desk volume. Online booking only pays off if it plugs into the existing RIS schedule and if every piece of health data collected sits with a certified health data host (HDS in France, a HIPAA-compliant host with a BAA in the US, a GDPR-compliant processor elsewhere in Europe). Plan 8 to 12 weeks and a Kolonell budget of 800,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (1,220 to 5,340 EUR) depending on the Starter, Growth or Premium tier, with RIS integration and compliant hosting quoted separately.
What actually overloads an imaging centre's front desk
A mid-sized imaging centre takes 250 to 400 calls a day (2026 ballpark). Front desk staff spend most of that time repeating the same instructions: fast before the exam, bring a recent creatinine result before a contrast CT, drink a litre of water before a pelvic ultrasound, remove jewellery before an MRI. Each call lasts 2 to 4 minutes and ties up a line while other patients hit voicemail.
| Call reason | Share of calls (2026 estimate) | Website answer |
|---|---|---|
| Exam preparation (fasting, contrast, full bladder) | 35 to 50% | MRI, CT, ultrasound and mammography prep pages |
| Booking or rescheduling | 20 to 30% | Booking module connected to the RIS |
| Results and reports | 10 to 15% | Link to the RIS or PACS patient portal |
| Opening hours, access, parking | 5 to 10% | One page per site with map and accessibility info |
| Prices, insurance, out-of-pocket costs | 5 to 8% | Clear pricing and coverage page |
| Documents to bring | 3 to 5% | Printable checklist per exam |
The right content unit is the exam page. A good one fits on a single mobile screen: duration, preparation, contraindications (pacemaker, clips, pregnancy, claustrophobia), documents to bring, a five-step walkthrough and the direct number of the relevant site. A group offering MRI, CT, ultrasound, mammography, X-ray and bone densitometry needs 25 to 40 exam pages, each reviewed by a lead radiologist.
Site pages matter just as much. A patient searching "MRI near me" or "CT scan + neighbourhood" must land on the right address, with the modalities available at that exact site, opening hours and the nearest public transport stop. This local structure also feeds each site's Google Business Profile.
Online booking: four architectures compared
The choice mostly depends on the RIS already in place and whether the group wants to stay on a consumer booking platform.
| Option | How it works | 2026 cost ballpark | Compliance burden | Setup time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer booking platform | Widget embedded in the site | 150 to 250 USD per month per provider | Carried by the platform | 2 to 4 weeks |
| RIS vendor booking module | RIS schedule exposed online | 3,000 to 12,000 USD licence, plus maintenance | Carried by the vendor | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Request form with callback | Staff confirm by phone or SMS | Included in the site | Compliant hosting of the site required | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Custom interface via the RIS API | Slots per modality, MRI safety questionnaire | Custom application, quoted | Compliant hosting required | 6 to 10 weeks |
The key legal point: a purely informational site (exam pages, hours, maps) stores no health data and can sit on standard hosting. As soon as a form collects an exam reason, a scanned referral or an MRI safety questionnaire, hosting must meet health data rules, with a compliant contract and access logging. Compliant shared hosting runs 100 to 500 USD per month on the market (2026 ballpark); at Kolonell, it is quoted on request.
What each Kolonell tier covers
| Tier | Kolonell budget | Scope for an imaging group |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 800,000 to 1,200,000 FCFA (1,220 to 1,830 EUR) | Site pages, main exam pages, link to the existing booking tool |
| Growth | 1,200,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA (1,830 to 3,050 EUR) | Full exam pages per modality, search by exam and site, prevention blog, analytics |
| Premium | 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (3,050 to 5,340 EUR) | Complete patient journey, advanced local SEO, animations, RIS widget integration |
| Custom RIS integration | Quoted (simple application: 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA) | Real-time slots, MRI safety questionnaire, SMS reminders |
| Maintenance | 35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA per month | Updates, backups, security patches |
The 8 to 12 week timeline breaks down into 2 weeks of scoping and sitemap, 3 to 4 weeks of writing and medical sign-off, 2 to 4 weeks of build and RIS integration, and 1 to 2 weeks of acceptance testing with front desk staff. Medical sign-off is almost always the critical path.
Mini case study
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Sarah, operations director of a four-site imaging group in Dublin, logs 300 calls per day per site, or 1,200 daily calls. Preparation calls make up 40%, or 480. With well-indexed exam pages sent by SMS at booking, she targets a 40% drop in those calls: 192 calls avoided per day.
At 3 minutes per call, that frees 576 minutes, or 9.6 hours a day, the equivalent of 1.3 front desk positions. At a loaded cost of roughly 38,000 EUR per year per position (2026 ballpark), the potential gain reaches about 49,400 EUR per year, redeployed to in-person reception rather than cut. A Premium site at 5,340 EUR pays for itself in under two months, and the separately quoted RIS integration also pays back within the first year if the no-show rate falls from 6% to 4% thanks to reminders.
FAQ
Does the informational website need certified health data hosting?
Not as long as it collects no health data: exam pages, hours and maps can stay on standard hosting. Once a form collects an exam reason or a referral, compliant hosting becomes mandatory, at a market cost of 100 to 500 USD per month.
Can we keep a consumer booking platform and still have our own site?
Yes, most groups do. The site embeds the platform's widget and also captures "MRI + neighbourhood" searches, which often account for 30 to 50% of visits.
How many exam pages do we need?
Between 25 and 40 for a multi-modality group. Each page runs 300 to 500 words and must be approved by a lead radiologist before going live.
Should the site show prices and insurance coverage?
Yes: a clear pricing page removes 5 to 8% of calls. It separates fully covered exams, possible out-of-pocket costs and self-pay procedures.
How long does it take to go live?
Plan 8 to 12 weeks, including 3 to 4 weeks for writing and medical sign-off. A custom RIS integration adds 6 to 10 weeks depending on the vendor's API.
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of sites, modalities and the name of your RIS, and we will scope the exam pages, the booking flow and the go-live plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
