This post was authored by William J. Oetgen, MD, MBA, FACC, executive vice president of ACC’s Publication, Education, Science and Quality.

New research on the use of novel oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients and statins for diabetes patients from the NCDR’s outpatient PINNACLE Registry will be presented during the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) meeting in Orlando.

Three abstracts will look at gender differences in use of anticoagulants for AFib (Sunday, Nov. 8 at 4:45 p.m. ET); frequency and practice level variation in statin use among diabetes patients (Monday, Nov. 9 at 9:00 a.m. ET); and impacts of introducing novel oral anticoagulants to overall oral anticoagulation rates in AFib (Monday, Nov. 9 at 6:00 p.m. ET). (Check out the ACC’s complete coverage of these and other studies at ACC.org/AHA2015).

As the PINNACLE Registry continues to grow, its increasingly rich clinical data are providing valuable, real-time insights into the impacts of new drugs, guidelines and treatment strategies on patient care. It’s also becoming a valuable tool in tracking changes in treatment patterns over time. The ACC has long taken a holistic, continuous approach to quality improvement that includes development of evidence-based guidelines; tracking and monitoring of care through registries; quality initiatives aimed at closing gaps in guideline-based care; and most importantly improved clinical outcomes.

The studies being released at AHA are prime examples of this approach in action. Over the last few years, for example, we have been able to track and monitor adherence to guideline-based care regarding use of anticoagulants through the PINNACLE Registry AFib module and identify areas for improvement. Based on this information, the College has developed and/or partnered on a number of resources ranging from mobile apps like the AnticoagEvaluator App to educational tools like TEAM-A and PI-AFib. We’ve also brought together key stakeholders for focused roundtables on anticoagulation and developed a robust online Anticoagulation Management clinical topic collection on ACC.org. We can now circle back to see what, if any, impacts these efforts have had on patient care and revise or update our path going forward.

This is exciting – and these efforts will only grow and continue as the PINNACLE Registry grows. We have real opportunities to improve how patients with AFib, heart failure, hypertension and diabetes are treated and managed. The ACC’s mission is to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health – and we’re achieving this mission every day!

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