June 22, 2017 | Ben Kenigsberg, MD
Advocacy

William Borden, MD, FACC, is an associate professor of medicine and health policy, and the director of health care delivery transformation at the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates in Washington, D.C. His clinical focus is in preventive cardiology, and he works both in policy and operationally on delivering high-value care.

April 27, 2017 | Prasad Gunesakaran, MD
Advocacy

The Physician Payments Sunshine Act, also referred to as the Open Payments Program, aims to enhance transparency of financial interactions between the pharmaceutical/device manufacturing industry and physicians. It requires public release of all financial transactions between covered recipients and manufacturers and those between covered recipients and group purchasing organizations (GPO).

April 27, 2017 | Sandeep Krishnan, MD
Advocacy

The importance of a team approach has long been supported and advocated by the ACC, AHA, and ESC guideline writing groups. However, the adoption of a true heart team inclusive of all providers including advanced practice providers (APPs), has eluded many practices and institutions until recently as it is a fairly new concept in cardiology. One thing that I appreciate about the ACC is its longstanding emphasis on advocating for physicians, patients, and for all cardiovascular team members including nurses, APPs, and cardiovascular technologists.

November 30, 2016 | Sandeep Krishnan, MD
Advocacy

State legislatures are some of the most important institutions in our government today. As Congress remains gridlocked to degrees of the highest level, we are at a crossroads for how to move forward with the question of governance.

November 17, 2016 | Aaron P. Kithcart, MD, PhD and Sunny Jhamnani, MD
Advocacy

The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) convened in Orlando, FL, this past weekend for its Interim Meeting to consider topics of importance to clinicians and to establish policy for the AMA.

October 20, 2016 | Anthony D. Osterman-Pla, MD
Advocacy 

ACC’s Legislative Conference brings together ACC members from across the nation to discuss the most pressing issues affecting cardiovascular professionals and to advocate for improved health care delivery. The conference began with a delightful Sunday-night welcome reception that allowed me to network with colleagues from across the country and exchange ideas on the practice and challenges in cardiovascular medicine.

October 19, 2016 | Charles Beale, MD
Advocacy

My second year as an FIT at ACC's Legislative Conference has proven to be even more rewarding than my first. Last year I found myself insecure and almost fumbling over words trying to explain why the ACC wanted to be involved in MACRA, the new payment model during my visit to Capitol Hill.

September 21, 2016 | Aaron P. Kithcart, MD, PhD
Advocacy

Long before many of us had started our medical training, Congress enacted the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which created a formula inaccurately called the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) as a way to curb Medicare spending. The formula was the benchmark by which payments to physicians were made. While its intentions were noble, the growth rate was anything but sustainable, and by 2015 physicians were expected to take a 21 percent cut in reimbursements according to the SGR.

September 9, 2016 | Ben Kenigsberg, MD
Advocacy

What does it mean to be a physician advocate? Through 8 years of medical school, internal medicine residency and general cardiology fellowship, I have an intuitive understanding of the clinical role of a physician. But what does it mean to be an advocate? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines advocacy as “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal”. Clearly, the field of medicine is in flux with extraordinary scientific developments in targeted pharmacologic therapies and device technology. As physicians, we categorically support scientific inquiry.

September 9, 2016 | Sandeep Krishnan, MD
Advocacy

Every day cardiovascular professionals around the globe are involved in improving and saving the lives of the countless people seeking care for themselves or their loved ones. This is no small feat, given the global epidemic that is heart disease. If this “day job” wasn’t enough, many of these same professionals also volunteer their time to help others in areas where access to basic health care, let alone cardiovascular care, is limited. Read more >>>

August 25, 2016 | Prasad Gunasekaran, MD
Advocacy

Spectrum of the Problem: Contemporary clinical practice involves pre-authorization from insurance companies for procedures. These were initially designed to obviate the need for discrepancies in payments for medical care, already provided by physicians. However, it has evolved into a labor-intensive process, causing considerable delays in patient care. Depending on the clinical scenario, the process of pre-authorization typically involves up to three burdensome steps:

July 20, 2016 | Aaron P. Kithcart, MD, PhD
Advocacy

Many know that advocacy is one of the central missions of the ACC. The College leads efforts to ensure cardiology practices are sustainable with adequate access for our patients, which requires advocacy at not only the national and state level, but at the regulatory level as well – especially with the upcoming rollout of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Many efforts, especially MACRA, will affect practices well outside cardiology. For this reason, the College collaborates with other organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA), to advocate for the entire house of medicine.

June 22, 2016 | Jeffrey A. Robinson, MD
Advocacy

ACC’s Ohio Chapter held its annual Legislative Day on May 10 in Columbus. The kick-off dinner and legislative appointments were attended by 28 physicians and cardiovascular team members, including three FITs as key participants. Members received a briefing on the current state legislative session by Monica Hueckel, director of government affairs at the Ohio State Medical Association, as well as an update from ACC State Advocacy by Michael Lawrence.

Ohio Chapter members met with 33 members of the Ohio Legislature, including 20 members of the House and 13 Senators. There were three current bills emphasized and discussed by Ohio Chapter members:

May 18, 2016 | Michelle Hadley, DO
Advocacy

I have always wanted to be impactful. In October, I attended ACC's 2015 Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. We met with our representatives on the House side, as well as with our senators. Unfortunately at that time, my district congressman was not in DC. Therefore, I took it upon myself to schedule a meeting in Worcester, MA, to meet with him.

Jan 19, 2016 | Aaron P. Kithcart, MD, PhD
Advocacy

Cardiologists take great pride in providing the best care possible for patients, but could we be doing more? You may not realize that some of the most important decisions that affect our patients' health aren't made in the exam room. Decisions regarding insurance coverage, reimbursement and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals are made miles away in state capitals and Washington, DC, and they have just as big of an impact on our patients' care. You likely already know that the ACC supports its members through evidence-based guidelines and innovative registries, but you may not know that the College is also very active in legislation and regulation. It is here where we see the importance of advocacy.

Nov 18, 2015 | Hakeem Ayinde, MB ChB, MS
Advocacy

The month of October was huge for health care advocacy as over 400 ACC members representing all 50 states and DC gathered for the 2015 ACC Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. A record 60 FITs were present at the meeting. I attended the conference as a cardiovascular fellow (and delegate) from the University of Iowa.

Nov 18, 2015 | Joe Ebinger, MD
Advocacy

Upon landing in Washington, DC, the weather alone was enough to remind me that I was no longer in Los Angeles where I am currently completing my cardiology Fellowship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. After exchanging my flip flops for wingtips, I quickly realized that the cooler temperatures were not at all reflective of the warm and welcoming environment of the 2015 ACC Legislative Conference. As a first time attendee and Fellow in Training (FIT), I was unsure of what to expect during the conference. What I experienced was one of the most informative and insightful meetings of my still young career.

Nov 2, 2015 | From the FIT Section
Advocacy

Through its advocacy efforts, the ACC builds relationships with Congress, federal government agencies, state legislative and regulatory bodies, private insurers and other policy making groups to advance the College’s mission of improving heart health.

Oct 21, 2015 | Mitul Kanzaria, MD
Advocacy

As health care costs rise, multiple strategies have been employed to try to reduce health care costs. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) includes many provisions to reduce the per capita cost of health care while improving the quality of care. These programs or provisions target five different areas generally, including process, outcome, patient experience, structure and cost. Many of these pay for performance programs are using financial incentives as a mechanism to improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Aug 11, 2015 | Rebecca Napier, MD
Advocacy

There is no better time than the present for Fellows in Training (FITs) to get involved in advocacy roles to help promote the field of cardiology and empower our members to better provide accessible and affordable care to our patients. Many FITs may find it difficult to balance such tasks with the demands of fellowship training. However, decisions made daily by legislators will directly impact the future of our practice and our patients. Our goal is to make FITs aware of current legislative issues and encourage participation in ACC Advocacy and the ACC Political Action Committee (ACCPAC).

July 30, 2015 | From the FIT Section
Advocacy

Thank you for checking out this exciting new feature of the Fellows in Training Section! In the coming days you will be see “quick-read” articles from FITs in this space. These articles will be written with your busy lifestyles in mind and we encourage you to check back soon.