News | Press Releases

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October 6, 2008

AHRA AND TOSHIBA ANNOUNCE PATIENT FIRST GRANT PROGRAM

Program to Fund Grants Focused on Improving Patient Care and Safety in Imaging

TUSTIN, California — October 6, 2008 — Improving patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging is an important issue to hospitals, physicians and administrators. Helping to support this need, the AHRA, the association for medical imaging management, has created the Patient First Program funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

The Patient First Program will provide grants to hospitals to create programs, training and/or seminars to improve patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging in the areas of CT, MR, Ultrasound, X-ray and Vascular, as well as develop best imaging practices to share with other hospitals.

“With hospitals being pressured to lower costs while continuing to provide the highest level of patient care, this type of program funding is more critical today than ever before,” said Penny M. Olivi, CRA, FAHRA and president, AHRA. “The Patient First grants will allow hospitals to fund important programs and training to improve the quality of care they offer.”

Patient First applicants will be judged on their plan for a program to improve patient care and safety in imaging and their ability to share best imaging practices. The Patient First programs should address one or more of the following:

• Reducing radiation and/or contrast dose
• Improving communication with patients regarding the imaging process
• Improving patient comfort
• Improving the overall clinical pathway

“From our patient-focused products to the validation studies we support, advancing patient care and safety in diagnostic imaging is one of our chief goals at Toshiba,” explained Cathy Wolfe, director, Marketing Services, Toshiba. “We are proud to continue this commitment by funding grants that seek to support the development of best practices in diagnostic imaging.”

The AHRA will award three Patient First grants of $7,500. All eligible hospitals are encouraged to apply by completing an application at www.ahraonline.org orwww.medical.toshiba.com. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2008.

About AHRA
AHRA, the association for medical imaging management, is the preeminent organization for leaders in medical imaging. AHRA offers a complete slate of professional development programs, including a comprehensive selection of education conferences and seminars through its Leadership Institute, diverse networking opportunities, award-winning publications and the Certified Radiology Administrator credential. Founded in 1973, AHRA’s more than 4,000 members represent management at all levels for freestanding imaging centers, hospital imaging departments and group practices. More information about AHRA can be found at www.ahraonline.org.

About Toshiba
With headquarters in Tustin, Calif., Toshiba America Medical Systems markets, sells, distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, and coordinates clinical diagnostic imaging research for all modalities in the United States. Toshiba Medical Systems Corp., an independent group company of Toshiba Corp., is a global leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, Cath & EP Labs, X-ray, Ultrasound, MRI and information systems. Toshiba Corp. is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. Toshiba has approximately 191,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $67 billion. For more information, visit www.medical.toshiba.com.