Yesterday I officially handed over the responsibilities of the Chair of the Board of Governors (BOG) to Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC. We also said goodbye and a big thank you to the chapter Governors whose term has ended and welcomed the Governors who will begin their three year term. I cannot express how grateful the ACC is to have such strong, dedicated leaders at the state level. Taking on a BOG position in addition to the daily responsibilities and demands of our jobs is not an easy task. I can tell you from experience it can be a challenging role at times, but in the end, the opportunity to make a difference for the College and the profession is well worth the struggles.

As the opportunities for the BOG as a whole to come together to share ideas for the future are limited to a few times a year, we also took the opportunity to discuss several important issues facing the field.  Our keynote address was Dr. Richard Anderson, CEO of The Doctors Company. Dr. Anderson explained the new ACC national medical professional liability insurance program with The Doctors Company (meeting attendees can learn more Monday, March 26 from 2-3:30 p.m. during a session titled “Issues That Have Caused Medical Professional Liability Claims: Are You at Risk?”) We all know medical liability is a huge issue at the state and national level so his presentation was helpful to put things into perspective.

John Shuck, MD, FACC, governor of Delaware gave an update on the FOCUS program in Delaware and the progress since it has been mandated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware earlier this year. In addition we heard from Andrew Freeman, MD, FACC, about the Walk with a Doc program.

Even more importantly we had our first-ever Town Hall Meeting with the Board of Trustees (BOT) where we discussed the future of the ACC’s Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). Given the continued focus on reducing escalating health care costs, more and more attention is being given to appropriate use criteria (AUC) as a means of reducing variations in care and ensuring appropriate use of technologies and therapies. (Read a previous blog post from Dr. Ralph Brindis about the future of AUC here).

Team BOT/BOG engaged in a lively discussion on AUC methodology and what needs to be improved going forward. Individuals spoke about the role of payers; the burden of expectations from patients, referring physicians, and other specialties; and the need for increased data and patient education. Others advocated for AUC to become living documents in the future. These conversations hopefully will guide us as we continue to find ways to help cv professionals understand and best utilize AUC and respond to concerns that may arise.

Overall it was a productive meeting and a great way to start ACC.12!

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