OUR PURPOSE

The ABR Foundation
and the ABR are partners
in the image gently Alliance.

At its June, 2008, meeting, the members of the ABR Foundation adopted three goals:

 Goal One

Improve the health of the public through research and educational programs to address national healthcare challenges.

 Goal Two

Convene medical organizations to explore broad, timely topics of public interest related to medical imaging and radiation therapy.

 Goal Three

Engage the public about advantages of accreditation, certification and maintenance of certification in the improvement of healthcare quality, safety and cost effectiveness in medical imaging and radiation therapy.

At that same meeting, the Foundation members approved two initial projects in its work toward achieving those three goals.

Project One: Annual Summit

The first multidisciplinary national summit meeting, "Medical Imaging: Addressing Overutilization in the Era of Healthcare Reform", was held August 6-7, 2009, in Bethesda, Maryland. Approximately 90 invited participants from 55 different organizations attended. Through interactive presentations and breakout sessions, the Summit provided a multidisciplinary forum to confront the many forces in our country that influence overutilization of imaging procedures.

William R. Hendee, PhD, previous chairman of the ABRF Board of Directors and distinguished professor of radiology, radiation oncology, biophysics, and bioethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, is lead author on a white paper that summarizes the conclusions of the Summit. The paper, titled "Addressing Overutilization in Medical Imaging," was published in the October 2010 issue of Radiology. Collaborating with Dr. Hendee were Gary J. Becker, MD; James P. Borgstede, MD; Jennifer L. Bosma, PhD; William J. Casarella, MD; Beth A. Erickson, MD; C. Douglas Maynard, MD; James H. Thrall, MD; and Paul E. Wallner, DO (Radiology. 2010 Oct;257(1):240-5. Epub 2010 Aug 24).

A second summit, "Improving Patient Care through Effective Communicating in Imaging," was held in Washington, D.C., August 5-6, 2010. A total of 77 participants from 47 organizations were in attendance.

The Summit was composed of physician, provider, payer, and consumer organizations, who joined to determine the causes for suboptimal communication in the medical imaging arena. Participants concluded that no single individual, department, or entity can solve communications problems for radiology; a team approach is absolutely essential. This is a crucial time for decision-making, and standardization of processes is a key element. To optimize the system, advances of the past must be linked with future innovations. Noninterpretive skills such as communication, service, professionalism, and ethics must be recognized at the same level of importance as other medical knowledge. Technical advances are moving us from a provider-centric world to a patient-centric world. We must recognize, understand, and embrace the changes. re co-sponsored by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the American Board of Radiology.

See a summary of 2010 Summit

See a summary of the 2009 Summit.

 Download the 2009 Summit overview in .pdf format.

Project Two: ABRF Series in Professionalism

The Foundation envisions a series in professionalism consisting of a consensus conference, followed by the development of a curriculum in professionalism.

Series planners anticipate augmenting the curriculum with white papers, journal articles, and instructional materials. These efforts will build upon the recent foundational work of other medical specialty boards.