August 12, 2016

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

This week's BOG Update is brought to you by BOG Chair A. Allen Seals, MD, FACC.

Post-August BOT Meeting Update

This past weekend, Aug. 4 – 6, ACC President Richard Chazal, MD, FACC, convened the ACC Board of Trustees (BOT) in Oregon. The BOT is responsible for meeting approximately every eight weeks to discuss ACC policy in relation to current issues that face the College and impact our members and our patients. The Trustees take this responsibility very seriously, and in according with the stated duties/responsibilities, each Board member works to "ensure that the Board focuses on strategic planning and policy development..." The BOT always remains mindful of and focused on our mission to "transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health" as the guide star for decisions coming out of this policy-making group.

As your BOG Chair, I hold a seat on the BOT and represent your interests. Dr. Chazal led the BOT into strategic discussions on what he has termed "The Big Four": MOC, MACRA, Governance and Accreditation. These are not new topics for our Governors, but remain at the forefront of some of the critical discussions not only by ACC leadership groups like the BOT and BOG, but also remain hot topics for a long list of standing committees of the Board (including the newly formed Membership Committee), as well as numerous other committees, task forces and work groups. In short, it is difficult to find an organized group within the ACC that is not discussing at least one or more of the "Big Four." This ongoing conversation at multiple levels is, of course, a very healthy sign of a vital organization like the ACC that values a wealth and divergence of discussion and input on critical issues. The BOT is not a "dark closed, smoke filled room," but just the opposite. Instead, the BOT is comprised of Board members who actively seek and engage input from all levels of our membership.

Enclosed here is a summary of the "Talking Points" that have been released by the ACC for use by our Governors. Slide sets on these important points are also available on the Leadership Portal.

MOC

  • The ABIM has made substantial changes to its MOC process in response to concerns raised by physicians and specialty organizations including the ACC.
  • The ABIM announced plans to offer a new MOC assessment option enabling physicians to opt-out of the current 10 year exam.
  • Details of the proposed ABIM plan are still under review.
  • ACC member leaders are collaborating with other physician organizations to modify the ABIM proposals.
  • The progress of the ABIM is best described as "deliberate."

MACRA

  • The MACRA remains the most significant change in health care reimbursement policy since the inception of Medicare 50 years ago.
  • The ACC is committed to maintaining a leadership role, not only in understanding the 2015 law, but also in providing an authoritative voice in the construction of the rules that will govern the critically important implementation of the MACRA.
  • The ACC is in "full court press" to educate our members by "all possible means" to ensure that our membership have the opportunity to learn details of the MACRA that apply to their practice environment.
  • The ACC is convinced that despite the serious challenges of the MACRA, the ACC has the opportunity to construct a payment system that will incorporate our guidelines and quality initiatives.
  • Ultimately, the ACC is working hard to be certain that the MACRA will be consistent with our core values and mission.

ACCREDITATION

  • The ACC has a key priority in the development of a comprehensive health systems strategy.
  • The crux of this strategy is to provide hospitals, health systems, and other facilities with quality improvement products across the cardiovascular care spectrum.
  • The NCDR family of registries has provided unprecedented data access for physicians and health care systems.
  • The College is committed to a unique value proposition for health care systems that incorporates the best of quality data systems with the best of accreditation systems.
  • The ACC is excited about our new collaboration with Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, and looks forward to expanding our effective accreditation services for health care systems.

GOVERNANCE

  • The ACC has experienced significant growth and change over the last decade.
  • The comprehensive Strategic Plan adopted by the ACC has been widely praised and embraced by our increasing and diverse membership.
  • To address this evolution of the College, the governance changes as produced as the work product of a very thoughtful two year process have been fully vetted and are now in the process of implementation.
  • These governance changes remain iterative and will likely see substantive changes, even now in the early phase of adoption of the new governance plan.
  • The ACC remains open to continued input from the BOG and all others within the College on constructive suggestions to the governance plan that strives to open up avenues for participation from all members of the College.