A method and apparatus for monitoring the transportation of medical images on a communication network includes a medical image transport service (MITS) that may be used to notify clients of the status of scheduled requests. The MITS may be configured to provide numerous notifications, such as the scheduled time for delivery, changes in scheduled time for delivery, delays associated with delivery at the scheduled time, and likely resolutions to network or other delays attendant to the requested transaction. The notifications may be sent in-band on the network or out-of-band on a parallel network. Where the notification relates to a delayed transaction, the notification message may contain the reason for the delay, the source of the delay, its location, and if other images can still be retrieved. The notification may also include a likely resolution of the problem and an estimate of when the problem will be resolved.