Contact: Amy Murphy, amurphy@acc.org, 202-375-6476

Washington, DC – TThe American College of Cardiology (ACC) today announced the launch of the PINNACLE Registry™, the first-ever office-based quality improvement program based on proven guidelines and performance measures.

The newest registry in the ACC’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry® (NCDR), the preeminent cardiovascular data repository in the United States, the PINNACLE Registry™ is a comprehensive management system that translates data into clinical insights and provides for comparative effectiveness research, quality improvement and proven commitment to quality outcomes.

“The ACC is in a unique position to develop and offer the PINNACLE Registry™, as the College is a confluence of cardiologists alongside our patients; advocates in scientific advancement and research; all built upon our successful history of clinical practice guidelines and the performance of quality health care,” said Ralph Brindis, M.D., president-elect of the American College of Cardiology. “By linking clinical practices with hospitals and bringing the data of the NCDR into a physician’s office, the PINNACLE Registry™ will show patients, colleagues and the health care community that we are delivering the right care for the right patient at the right time.”

The PINNACLE Registry™, designed by cardiologists, benefits from its two-year pilot phase as the IC3 Program®, and now will be integrated into the NCDR® to provide participants with access to both hospital and ambulatory patient-focused data. As one of the largest practice-level scientific efforts undertaken in the United States, the IC3 Program®,, now the PINNACLE Registry™, contains hundreds of thousands of clinical patient records focusing on four common cardiac conditions – coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

The ACC thanks the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership for their vision and commitment as a founding sponsor of the IC3 Program®,.

As of October 15, the IC3 Program®, already had 181 practices representing more than 600 office locations nationwide and achieved nearly 315,000 patient encounters. In November 2009, two abstracts will be presented, including one report on outcomes from the first 10,000 patient records.

“Data management and reporting is the foundation for a practice’s success clinically, financially and professionally,” said Janet Wright, M.D., the ACC’s senior vice president for Science and Quality. “The PINNACLE Registry™ is the first step to embedding quality improvement at the point of care and due to the two-year pilot program, we have a significant head start to becoming the foundation for a nationwide network of practices committed to improving quality and patient outcomes.”

Designed to save time and allow for efficient data entry, the PINNACLE Registry™ allows for multiple data entry methods. The registry is compatible with a variety of electronic health record (EHR) systems and deploys with software solutions capable of querying EHR systems and automatically transmitting data to the PINNACLE Registry™ database. The ACC can also input paper records.

The PINNACLE Registry™ produces quarterly outcomes reports that validate the quality of care participating cardiologists deliver while highlighting potential improvement areas. Participation is free to all cardiology practices.

The PINNACLE Registry™ will power the ACC’s new PINNACLE Network™, the first-ever registry-based cardiovascular network to link thousands of cardiology practices to each other and to the ACC’s NCDR®.

The PINNACLE Network™ immediately addresses the rapidly shifting business environment that private cardiovascular practices face with a wealth of practice management and financial management tools. The PINNACLE Network™ also builds a foundation for innovative, registry-based systems to reward practices for the high quality care they provide.

For more information on the PINNACLE Registry™ visit www.ncdr.com.

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About the ACC:
The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The College is a 37,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC provides professional education and operates national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care. More information about the association is available online at www.acc.org .

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