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July 9, 2009
Teleradiology Services Provider Demonstrates Commitment To Providing High Quality Health Care In
Rural Areas
MINNEAPOLIS, Jul 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Virtual Radiologic Corporation (NASDAQ:VRAD), a leading global provider of
teleradiology services, has been selected to serve as the Provider of Choice for teleradiology services for the National Rural
Health Association's (NRHA) Services Corporation. Virtual Radiologic's proven reputation as the leader in quality of patient care
and service excellence in the teleradiology market supports NRHA's core mission of improving the health and well-being of rural
Americans.
Accessing health care poses a challenge for the approximately 60 million residents who live in rural communities throughout the
United States. "Unlike urban areas, rural areas suffer from a lack of diverse providers - there are half as many specialists per
100,000 residents in rural communities compared with urban communities," notes Larry Bedell, executive director of NRHA
Services Corporation. "Expanding access to high quality health care is a key tenet of current health care reform mandates, and
telemedicine, specifically teleradiology, is a critical component to the future of quality health care in rural America."
"We are very pleased to partner with the NRHA to help expand access to quality medical care," said Eduard Michel, M.D.,
Virtual Radiologic's co-founder and medical director. "Working in partnership with local radiologists, whose resources are often
stretched too thin in rural areas, Virtual Radiologic's teleradiology services provide an efficient and cost-effective way to help
alleviate inequitable access to health care caused by geography. With over 100 fellowship-trained radiologists, we can provide
subspecialty care to patients in small rural hospitals who often would not otherwise have access."
Virtual Radiologic's teleradiology solutions address a growing problem in the health care industry - the shortage in the number
of radiologists available to meet increasing demand for diagnostic imaging services. Using proprietary workflow software and a
24/7-staffed operations center, the Company's radiologists are expected to provide more than 2.5 million diagnostic
interpretations in 2009 with monthly average emergent turnaround times of approximately 20 minutes. More than 625
customers supporting over 1,050 medical facilities rely on Virtual Radiologic to provide preliminary, final or subspecialty
diagnostic reports around-the-clock.
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