ACC Supports Congenital Bill

The ACC on March 12 sent a letter expressing support for the “Congenital Heart Futures Act,” which would increase awareness and public education surrounding congenital heart disease, to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who introduced the bill. The bill would provide funding to educate the public and health care professionals; create a registry to collect and store data to track demographics, risk factors, causation and treatment approaches; and create an Advisory Committee on Congenital Heart Disease. The letter is available here.

MedPAC Recommends Physician Payment Update

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recently released its annual report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy. The report recommends that Congress update Medicare physician payments by 1.1 percent in 2010. It also recommends that Congress direct the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the equipment use standard for expensive imaging machines, such as CT, MRI and PET, from 25 hours to 45 hours a week. MedPAC recommends that the change should redistribute relative value units from expensive imaging to other physician services. The report is available online.

Today! CMS, ACC to Hold CV-Focused PQRI Forum
It is not too late to participate in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) for 2009! The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the ACC later today will hold a special Open Door Forum for cardiovascular professionals interested in participating or who currently participate in PQRI. The call, which will be held from 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. EST, will provide a detailed overview of the PQRI measures that can be reported by cardiologists in 2009. The Open Door Forum can be accessed by calling 1-800-837-1935 (Conference ID 89036042), and more information, including slides, can be found here. More information about PQRI can be found at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI.

Obama Announces FDA Pick
President Barack Obama on March 14 announced the appointments of Margaret Hamburg, M.D., as the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Joshua Sharfstein, M.D., as the agency’s Principal Deputy Commissioner. Dr. Hamburg served as the Nuclear Threat Initiative's founding Vice President for the Biological Program, and was the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Sharfstein is Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore, and has been recognized as a national leader for his efforts to protect children from unsafe jewelry and over-the-counter medication. More coverage is available from ACC’s online forum, The Lewin Report. A video of the announcement is also available.

FDA News Updates
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified health care professionals of a Class 1 Recall of certain models of Baxter’s Colleague Single and Triple Channel Volumetric Infusion Pumps, manufactured and distributed from February 1997 - December 2008. The company identified software and battery usage failures that result in a delay in or interruption of infusion that may cause serious injury and/or death. The MedWatch 2009 safety summary is available online.

FDA has approved an abbreviated new drug application for Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited to market and manufacture Ramipril 5-mg and 10-mg capsules. FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs determined Ramipril has the same therapeutic effect as Altace, manufactured by King Pharmaceuticals, which is intended to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Additional coverage is available from Cardiovascular Business magazine.

Moving Toward Continuous Cardiac Care
ACC President-elect Alfred Bove, M.D., F.A.C.C., discusses the importance of patient-centered care and a new ACC initiative, the Year of the Patient, as the March contributor to ACC’s online forum, The Lewin Report. Dr. Bove writes that a “commitment to good patient care [is what] the ACC wishes to emphasize in the Year of the Patient. The emphasis is not only on respecting the cardiologist who provides continuous cardiac care to keep patients active and symptom-free, but also in bringing patients into the care team and empowering them to participate in their care decisions.” Read Dr. Bove’s post in full here and share your thoughts!

Also, check back with The Lewin Report in coming weeks for sneak previews and exciting live coverage of ACC.09 in Orlando. The posts will feature programming highlights and special announcements from the meeting, as well as thought-provoking discussions. The Lewin Report will also have more information on how to follow ACC.09 on Twitter.com, a real-time messaging service.

ACC Celebrates Louise Liang of Kaiser Permanente

The ACC on March 12 celebrated the accomplishments of Louise Liang, M.D., a senior consultant at Kaiser Permanente, in promoting higher quality and value in the health care sector. Dr. Liang, a champion and innovator of patient-centered quality and outcomes improvement, spoke of her experiences with the launch of Kaiser Permanente’s electronic health record (EHR) and personal health record (PHR), HealthConnect.

HealthConnect, which include ambulatory- and hospital-based EHRs and a PHR, contributed to a decline in annual office visits of 26.2 percent between 2004 and 2007, Dr. Liang told the group of health care leaders. Meanwhile, scheduled telephone visits increase eight-fold, secure e-mail messaging increased six-fold and overall patient contact increased 8.3 percent. The results indicate that unnecessary or marginally productive office visits are reduced or replaced with telephone visits and e-mails, while maintaining quality and satisfaction, Dr. Liang said. She added that the broad implementation and use of a combined EHR/PHR is well-received by health care professionals and patients because of its perceived value.

ACC Presents Quality First at National P4P Summit

ACC Vice President Ralph Brindis, M.D., F.A.C.C., and CEO Jack Lewin, M.D., last week presented at the 2009 National Pay-for-Performance Summit on the topic of “Aligning Payment, Accountability and Opportunity in Specialty Care.” At the conference, Dr. Brindis discussed the components and success of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry. Dr. Lewin outlined the principles of the Quality First campaign, the College’s health care reform initiative, as well as ACC’s ideas for national health care reform. For more about Quality First, visit: qualityfirst.acc.org.

Don’t Miss the ACC.09 Quality Track!

Don’t miss the quality track at ACC.09! The quality track provides a great opportunity to hear about ACC quality efforts already underway, as well as learn about innovative ways to improve quality of care and empower patients. ACC’s quality efforts are represented by Quality First, the College’s health care reform campaign. Learn more at qualityfirst.acc.org. Also, look for the Quality First survey in your portfolio bag. Turn in your completed survey at ACC Central (Booth #2062) for a free gift!

On Sunday, plan to attend the ACC.09 Scientific Showcase in the Orange County Convention Center, Hall A2, from 8 – 9:30 a.m. The quality-themed event features the Simon Dack Lecture by Princeton University economics professor Uwe Reinhardt; presidential address by ACC President Douglas Weaver, M.D., F.A.C.C.; and an JUPITER trial presentation. Later on Sunday, attend the Louis F. Bishop Lecture, featuring health care economist Len Nichols, Ph.D., on “What Health Care Reform Will Cost Us: And Why Doing Nothing Will Cost Us Even More!” The lecture will take place from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Room W311A.

IOM Requests Public Input on Comparative Research Priorities

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has requested public input on priorities for comparative effectiveness research (CER) as called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In addition to allocating $400 million to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for CER, the legislation mandates that the IOM produce and submit a consensus report by June 30, 2009, that provides specific recommendations to Congress and the Secretary for expenditure of these funds. The recommendations must consider public input. The ACC is currently drafting its recommendations for submission and CEO Jack Lewin, M.D., will attend the public meeting scheduled for Friday, March 20. Comments are due March 27th. More information can be found here.

Administration Launches Health Reform Web Site

The Obama administration has launched a new Web site on health reform, http://www.healthreform.gov. The Web site lists upcoming regional events by state; provides more information on the health provisions of the budget; features stories from Americans about health care; and includes a method of submitting questions and comments on health care reform. The Web site is an ideal place for Chapter members to get involved in regional events that will affect the national debate. Visit the Web site now.

Enrollment in Medical Schools Increasing

The Associated Press/Chicago Tribune last week reported that “[r]esponding to warnings of a looming doctor shortage, existing schools are increasing enrollment, and new ones are opening or under development” across the country. According to the AP/Tribune, the number of accredited medical schools will grow in 2009 from 126 to 130, with five additional schools applying for accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Meanwhile, currently accredited schools in 2008 accepted 18,036 new medical students, up 9.1 percent from 2003.