This post was authored by C. Michael Valentine, MD, FACC, incoming vice president of the ACC and course co-director of the 2016 Cardiovascular Summit.

As clinicians, we strive day in and day out to provide high-quality, patient-centered, cost-efficient care to our patients. In a time of rapid health care change, balancing all of this while also striving to achieve operational excellence and financial success is challenging to say the least.

Recognizing the need for solutions to help cardiovascular professionals thrive in this time of change, Howard T. Walpole, MD, MBA, FACC, Pamela S. Douglas, MD, MACC, and I started the Cardiovascular Summit several years back. Since then, the course has evolved to meet the current needs of entire the cardiovascular care team.

At the 2016 Summit, hundreds of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, cardiovascular administrators and others gathered in Las Vegas to discuss, discover and develop the best solutions and strategies for today’s challenges. Over three days, attendees took part in interactive sessions on topics related to national drivers, the business of medicine, operational excellence and leadership, and quality and efficiency.

The new Medicare payment landscape definitely dominated the conversation at this year’s Summit. While the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) holds significant promise for the future of health care delivery, there is still an abundance of unknowns that have caused anxiety for us as health care professionals. Numerous sessions and a mini-intensive led by Cathleen Biga, MSN, RN, and other experts helped attendees piece together the MACRA puzzle.

As we continue down the path to value, disruptive leadership will be paramount to ensuring a system that works for patients, practices and providers alike. While we have mastered clinical excellence, the paradigm shift in medicine requires us to hone our leadership skills so we can help shape the future of cardiology.

Attendees left Las Vegas with the tools needed to effect change. However, what happened in Vegas shouldn’t stay in Vegas. We need to share our new knowledge with our colleagues and be leaders of change in our practices.

Not sure where to begin?  Here’s a homework assignment that Chad A. Hoyt, MD, FACC, gave to Summit attendees:

• Have your leadership skills assessed by others – Consider a professional coach
• Eliminate activities which are counterproductive – Enforcing outdated rules, putting out fires, solving operational problems
• Reduce activities which are a waste of time – Monitoring middle management, answering emails, etc.
• Raise activities which are strategic – Coach and motivate, communicate vision, create and explain a strategy
• Create opportunities – Analyze future trends, create an agenda for change, reduce bureaucratic barriers

Don’t get overwhelmed by making mammoth changes overnight. Small, incremental changes can be just as effective in the long run. I encourage you to try making a few of the above changes over the course of the next year.

See you in Orlando for the 2017 Cardiovascular Summit, Jan. 26-28!

This post is part of a series of posts from the 2016 Cardiovascular Summit: Solutions for Thriving in a Time of Change. Visit ACC’s MACRA hub for additional information and resources. Search “#CVSummit” on Twitter for attendee insights from the Summit.

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