DEXA Scans in Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City's two published DEXA options bracket the city: LDS Hospital, the Intermountain hospital at 8th Ave and C Street in the upper Avenues, and Highland Family Practice at 4460 S. Highland Dr. on the east bench near Millcreek. Both appear in the listings on this page — book through whichever facility is easier to reach from Sugar House, 9th and 9th, or downtown.

Pricing is set by each facility, not by us — cash-pay body-composition DEXA along the Wasatch Front generally falls in the $99–$250 range depending on the provider and scan type, so confirm the cost when you schedule. Insurance-billed hospital imaging through University of Utah Health or Intermountain runs on your plan's rates instead, which is one reason many athletes choose the cash-pay route.

Salt Lake City offers world-class skiing at Alta, Snowbird, Park City, and Brighton right in its backyard, plus summer hiking and trail running in the Wasatch Range. At altitude, with athletes pushing performance limits year-round, precise body composition monitoring earns its keep. The facilities listed here run medical-grade DEXA equipment accurate to within 1-2% for body fat, lean muscle, and bone density — the same clinical standard used in exercise-science research at the University of Utah.

It depends on the scan and the facility. Cash-pay body composition scans are generally direct-book with no referral, while a hospital-based bone-density exam — the kind LDS Hospital's imaging department runs — is usually ordered by your physician. Check with the facility you choose from the listings before you go.

Yes. A DEXA scan's X-ray dose is tiny — less than the extra cosmic radiation Salt Lake City residents absorb daily just from living at 4,300 feet — and the scan is painless, non-invasive, and takes 10-15 minutes. That makes seasonal rescans practical for Wasatch Front athletes tracking bone density year over year.

Plan on 10-15 minutes on the table, easy to slot before a ski day at Snowbird or after a trail run in Millcreek Canyon. Total visit length differs between a family practice and a hospital imaging department, so ask about timing when you book.

Many plans cover DEXA when a physician orders it for medically necessary bone-density testing, and Medicare covers screening DXA for qualifying patients. Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, Select Health, and Cigna plans often include bone density screening benefits for eligible patients. Wellness body-composition scans are typically self-pay; ask the clinic whether it takes HSA/FSA cards.

A full body DEXA scan reports total and regional body fat percentage, lean muscle distribution, visceral fat, and bone mineral density. For Alta and Snowbird skiers, Wasatch trail runners, and Big Cottonwood Canyon cyclists, that data shows whether high-altitude training is building muscle and protecting bone — precision a wearable can't match.

Gyms and rec centers around Salt Lake City offer InBody BIA scans, but bioimpedance can drift +/-5-8% with hydration — a real issue at altitude, where athletes often run slightly dehydrated. DEXA measures tissue directly by X-ray at +/-1-2% accuracy and is the research standard at institutions like University of Utah Health Sciences.

Turnaround depends on where you scan: clinic-based providers commonly email results within about a day, while hospital imaging reports route back through your physician. Ask the facility about timing when you book — especially if you're trying to get numbers before ski season — rather than counting on same-day delivery.