This post was authored by Richard Chazal, MD, FACC, vice president of the ACC.

While the ACC has long been known for dissemination of education to cardiovascular specialists, quality improvement and advocacy have also become crucial cornerstones of the College’s mission over the last several decades. In fact, these objectives are literally written in stone in our Heart House lobby in Washington, DC.

In a recent Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) editorial, strong opinion was voiced about physician responsibility and the use of advocacy. What is the proper role to be played by physicians and by the ACC in regard to these efforts? How best do we maintain the primacy of care for patients, but also respect the needs of members? And what of our obligations beyond those to the individual patient: obligations to society or our obligations to improve systems of care?

The ACC’s long-term advocacy focus has been, and continues to be on the ultimate wellbeing of patients, both in the U.S. and around the globe. One need only look at some of the College’s recent efforts to make this point: Advocacy for funding for cardiovascular research; advocacy for the use of scientific registries for quality improvement; advocacy for pulse ox legislation and smoke-free laws. The list goes on. Expansion of work into the international sphere is also underway. The College has played an integral role in global policy efforts to battle non-communicable diseases and is working with partner societies and ACC International Chapters around the globe to support policies aimed at improving heart health and reducing cardiovascular mortality.

While physician reimbursement and work with payers could be viewed at face-value as self-serving, in reality advocacy in these areas is just as important to patient care. If physicians are not able to maintain viable practices or provide the services necessary to ensure appropriate and necessary care, patients will suffer. As such, advocating for patient access to a comprehensive array of services at the hospital or in the office and working to ensure adequate resources for practices to support patient care and reduced administrative burdens are important advocacy priorities.

The ACC at its core is a member organization dedicated to the improvement of patient care. The JACC editorial is absolutely correct in noting that “as physicians, there is an obligation to be altruistic, because our true calling is to serve patients – and not simply our own patients. Physicians must be rooted in a desire to help humanity through furthering the field of medicine.”

It is precisely in this spirit of service that we appreciate and respect the time and efforts of volunteer members and staff who advocate for patients and the physicians who serve them. To leave this responsibility to politicians without the input of those who serve patients would be an abrogation of our responsibilities, and of our oath. When considering our role in promoting good care, we would all do well to recall the words of Thomas Jefferson: “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate. ”

 

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