Call for Nominations: ACC Vice President, Trustees

Recommendations to the ACC Nominating Committee are now being accepted for ACC vice president and Board of Trustee (BOT) positions through July 3.

Each trustee will serve up to a three-year term. The vice president serves a one-year term, and is thereafter eligible to assume the position of ACC president. To serve as vice president, an individual must have first served at least one term on the BOT.

The application form and position descriptions, along with more details about the nomination process, requirements and ACC’s leadership competencies are available at ACC.org/BOTNominations. Nominations and supporting materials should be sent to Taylor Davis at tdavis@acc.org by July 3. The Nominating Committee will meet this summer to consider all recommendations and will present a slate of nominations to the BOT for approval.

IU Adult Academic Health Center Earns Triple Accreditation!

The Indiana University Adult Academic Health Center (AHC) was recently awarded three accreditations by ACC Accreditation Services, making it the first hospital in Indiana to be awarded a triple accreditation.

The Center received the following accreditations:

• The Atrial Fibrillation v3 accreditation with EPS
• The Cardiac Cath Lab with PCI accreditation
• Chest Pain with PCI accreditation

To earn accreditation, the IU Adult AHC cardiovascular team needed to complete a rigorous self-assessment, data submission process, and onsite evaluation to demonstrate their ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with cardiac conditions.

To learn more about ACC Accreditation Services, go to CVQuality.ACC.org.

ACC Patient Navigator Program: Focus MI Announces the 15 Diplomat Hospitals

With 90-day readmissions an increasing area of focus for proposed payment and reimbursement models, there is a need to identify best practices. As part of the ACC’s Patient Navigator Program: Focus MI, 15 hospitals are serving as pioneers in this space.

During the first phase of the Patient Navigator Program, which launched in 2013, 35 hospitals around the country worked closely with the ACC to implement interventions aimed at bridging gaps between inpatient and outpatient AMI care through 30 days post hospitalization. These lessons learned are now being shared nationally through the newest phase of the program. Additionally, 15 of the original 35 hospitals have chosen to be “Diplomat Hospitals” and will focus on reducing 90-day readmissions for AMI patients, while also providing mentorship for wider adoption of the program across other institutions. Read More >>>

“Since the original Patient Navigator Program launched, hospitals and cardiovascular care team members have led the way in developing effective ways to help manage patients’ heart health after they leave the hospital,” said ACC Immediate Past President Mary Norine Walsh, MD, MACC, earlier this year. “The 15 Diplomat Hospitals will be building on what we have learned to help hospitals across the country reduce readmission rates while improving patients’ long-term outcomes.”

To find out more about the program, visit CVQuality.ACC.org/PatientNavigator. Patient Navigator Program: Focus MI is supported by founding sponsor AstraZeneca.

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ACC Named A Best Place to Work in Health Care

The ACC has been selected as one of Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare for 2018, marking the third year in a row that the College has received this prestigious recognition.

Modern Healthcare annually recognizes outstanding employers in the health care industry on a national level. Scan the QR code to view the nonranked, alphabetically-ordered list of 2018 winners. Specific rankings will be announced on the evening of Sept. 27 at the Modern Healthcare awards gala in Dallas.

Taking the Pulse of ACC.org: The Beat on Better Features, Experience

Interacted with the new Guideline Hubs on ACC.org? Taken advantage of expert commentary and case studies that provide further insight and context into clinical research presented at ACC’s Annual Scientific Session? These are just some of the improvements made to ACC.org over the last couple years thanks to the work of 37 dedicated ACC members who participate in ACC.org Pulse Check.

Led by Salim Virani, MD, FACC, members of the Pulse Check group regularly participate in usability studies to examine and improve features on the website and ensure it is meeting the clinical and educational needs of cardiovascular professionals no matter where they live and work.

"Our goal is to better understand users’ experience on ACC.org, and to respond by constantly finding ways to leverage new technologies and improve their experience." — Salim Virani, MD, FACC

Virani, who sits on the ACC.org Editorial Board and serves as associate editor of innovations, created the ACC.org Pulse Check group. Since its inception the group has focused on topics ranging from guideline presentation, to improving certified patient cases, to best practices for website personalization, and more. Read More >>>

“We must ensure it’s easy for our learners to access all the important information and education produced by the College,” says Kim A. Eagle, MD, MACC, editor-in-chief of the website. “This requires understanding how our members use ACC.org along with consistently improving the technology and the content. The ACC.org Pulse Check group is key to this understanding.”

Among the Pulse Check improvements to date:

• One-step access to news from major cardiovascular meetings like the ACC Annual Scientific Session, European Society of Cardiology Congress, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, etc. Users simply select the “Meeting Coverage” tab under “Latest in Cardiology” for video interviews, slides, journal scans, clinical trial summaries and more.
• A new simplified process for quiz-taking as part of the College’s popular Certified Patient Cases.
• Streamlined listing of ACC’s Clinical Guidelines, as well as the creation of centralized Clinical Guidelines Hubs containing guideline-specific tools and resources, including slides, commentary, calculators, patient education and a new “Guidelines Made Simple” tool that summarizes the most important tables and figures from every guideline.
• Improved personalization features (coming soon) allowing users to choose the type of information they’d like to receive from the College as it pertains to their specialty and interests.

“Our goal is to better understand users’ experience on ACC.org, and to respond by constantly finding ways to leverage new technologies and improve their experience,” says Virani. “Thanks to ACC.org Pulse Check members, we are making this happen in ways both big and small.”

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CV Disease and Diabetes: Test Your Knowledge; Earn Credit

A new online ACC hub focused on “Lifting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes” provides a host of free education activities designed to help cardiac care professionals close the gap in new cardiometabolic pharmacotherapy. Participants can earn up to six CME/CNE/MOC credits.

Each activity is a stand-alone continuing medical education activity, allowing participants to choose where they would like to focus and how. Topics include a focus on the interplay of therapies; guidelines and new/emerging clinical trials; comorbidities and cardioprotective properties; and tailoring treatment and educating patients. Examples of activities include podcasts, interactive patient cases, expert analysis and discussion boards.

Click here to learn more and take part in the course.

Calling All Dogs!

Is your pet an important piece of your well-being? As the conversation grows about physician well-being, we’re hearing from members about the importance of their dogs in balancing their lives. Send us a photo of your dog for a showcase of our canine friends in the Dog Days of August issue of Cardiology. Submit the photo by July 10 to cardiologyeditor@acc.org.