November 4, 2016

What works best in your Chapter for member/patient benefit?

This week's BOG Update is brought to you by Governor of the Michigan Chapter, Akshay Khandelwal, MD, FACC, FSACI; CV Team State Liasion of the Michigan Chapter, Sandra Oliver-McNeil, DNP, ACNP-BC, CHFN, AACC; and Alice Betz, Michigan Chapter Executive.

M is for Michigan

Michigan. We're all about the M. U of M and MSU, the two best schools in the country. Mackinac Bridge, or "Mighty Mac", the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. M-22, the most beautiful drive in the nation. So, it's no surprise that the highlight of what works best in our chapter for member/patient benefit was our recent Michigan Chapter ACC annual meeting.

  • Massive. We continued to have strong member engagement, as evidenced by:
    • 232 registrants composed of 91 cardiologists, 62 fellows in training and 79 CV Team members
    • 9 teams from as many training programs for FIT Jeopardy, competing to represent our state at ACC.17 in DC
    • 6 CV Team poster presenters
    • 26 FIT poster presenters
    • 33 exhibitors
  • MOC. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Kim A. Williams, provided an overview of the ACC's efforts vis-à-vis ABIM reforms, and Dr. Khandelwal presented his personal experience, having just taken the 10-year recertifying exam, and having utilized ACCSAP 9 to obtain over 150 CME/MOC credits.
    • Our members were very grateful that the ACC was able to successfully advocate for meaningful reform of undue requirements.
    • Most importantly, they appreciated the value of attending the first chapter meeting in the nation to offer dual CME/MOC credit. This allowed them to obtain 10.75 dual CME/MOC credits on-site, with an additional 17 dual CME/MOC credits through the ECCOA (Essentials of Cardiovascular Care in Older Adults) program we offered.
  • MACRA. Dr. Williams held a town hall during which he presented an overview of MACRA, including the MIPS and advanced APM options, and key lessons from the recent finalized rule for the Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP). Dr. Khandelwal presented a MACRA brief for proceduralists, stressing the imperative to drive the change (or be run-over by the change), and the importance of being informed about and prepared for the various MACRA options.
    • Our members are most concerned about adapting to the changes, the uncertainty of how "value" is defined, and the sustainability of the independent practice.
    • We urged our members to attend (or get their leadership to attend) the CV Summit early next year in January for a blueprint on how to tackle these challenges.
  • Member and affiliate recognition.
    • Dr. Barry Lewis was awarded our "Distinguished Service Award" for his years of service to advocacy and educational efforts.
    • Katherine Knoll, American Heart Association-Midwest Affiliate, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Collaborative Consortium (BMC2), were both awarded our "Heart of Cardiology Award" for partnering to make a difference in our Michigan patients' lives.
    • Dr. Joy Pollard, past CV Team Liaison, was recognized for her leadership in creating and facilitating the Chapter's "See You in 7" Hospital Collaborative and for expanding the scope of our annual Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium.
  • Dr. Melvyn Rubenfire, our first chapter President, was our inaugural "Legacy" lecturer and spoke on "Lipid Management: Beyond the Basics."
  • Dr. Kathleen M. McCauley, Professor Emeritus from the University of Pennsylvania, was our invited CV Team expert on "Transitions of Care for the Elderly," part of our ECCOA program.