The Illinois Chapter hosted its best reception in recent history at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Chicago during the ACC 2008 Scientific Session.  It was the best attended in recent history and featured live music from our talented very own, Dr. Alan Zunamon, many FIT posters, and an award presentation. During the presentation, the ILACC presented Dr. James Dove a gift thanking him for dedicated service as the President of the American College of Cardiology.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the following hospitals for their sponsorship and continued support of this outstanding event:

• The Cardiology Alumni, Stritch School of Medicine Loyola University 
• Cardiology Fellowship Program, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
• The Section of Cardiology, University of Illinois at Chicago
• The Section of Cardiology and the Rush Heart Institute, Rush University Medical Center
• The Division of Cardiology, Northwestern University Medical School
• Division of Cardiology, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital

At the ACC Annual Scientific Session in Chicago W. Douglas Weaver was inaugurated as President of the ACC. He addressed the Board of Governors highlighting his goals for the coming year, which include a continued effort to focus and promote the ACC’s message on quality and activity with healthcare reform. As this election year proceeds, the ACC will continue to remain proactive in guiding reform decisions. Dr. Weaver explains “we are seated at the table in discussions with payers, the government and other providers, and our quality message is being heard.” To read more about Dr. Weavers focus for the coming year, click this link to the president’s page.

Just in from the ACC: The Senate Finance Committee has included language in the Farm Bill that would significantly prohibit the existence and growth in physician-owned specialty hospitals. The language was included in the Farm Bill as a means to pay for some of the legislation’s expenditures related to disaster aid and agriculture-related tax credits. Call your members of Congress and urge them to protect the rights of physicians to own assets and the rights of patients to have access to specialty hospitals. To contact your Senator or Representative, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Tell your members of Congress:

1. Do not include language in the Farm Bill, or any other bill, that uses physician-owned hospitals as a means of paying for the legislation;
2. Explain to your members of Congress how your facility provides high-quality, patient-centered care;
3. Encourage members of the House of Representatives to work with medical specialty groups, like the ACC, to enact responsible policies regarding specialty hospitals and other health care legislation.

On March 28, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted information from patient satisfaction surveys to its Hospital Compare Web site, which offers information about hospital quality and cost to consumers. CMS also added information about the number of certain elective hospital procedures provided to patients between October 2005 and September 2006 and what Medicare reimbursed for those procedures. The Web site features 26 quality measures, including process of care and outcome measures, and 10 patient experience measures based on the results of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Hospital Survey (HCAHPS), the first national, standardized survey on patient experience. This Summer, CMS will add more information on mortality measures. The Hospital Compare Web site is available here.

The chair of the American College of Cardiology Foundation's (ACCF) project with United Healthcare (UHC), Dr. Robert Hendel, IL-ACC, announced that the SPECT MPI pilot is moving forward. This project will assess the practical application of the Appropriateness Criteria for SPECT MPI in 10 physician practices across the United States (none in Illinois). The six-month pilot program will use a SPECT MPI Appropriateness Criteria tool to determine the validity and utility of the criteria, particularly as an alternative to UHC's Radiology Notification Program. The results of such projects will be pivotal as more and more payers are turning to radiology benefit management services to control imaging costs. Currently, seven of ten practices are collecting data and more than 635 patients have been entered into the database.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 1 began implementing the first phase of a new requirement for the use of tamper-resistant prescription drug pads for Medicaid prescriptions. The new requirements were outlined in an August 2007 letter to state Medicaid directors. As of April 1, prescription drug pads must include at least one of three “tamper-resistant” characteristics to be used for Medicaid beneficiaries. The characteristics include:

1. One or more industry-recognized elements intended to prevent unauthorized copies of blank or completed prescription pad forms;
2. One or more industry-recognized elements intended to prevent the alteration or erasure of information present on completed prescription pad forms;
3. One or more industry-recognized elements intended to prevent counterfeit prescription pad forms.

States may ask for additional requirements on top of the requirements above. State prescription laws and/or regulations can be obtained by contacting the state Medicaid agency. For more information about the requirement, see CMS’ Frequently Asked Questions document HERE.

On behalf of the entire Illinois ACC membership, I welcome our new Illinois Fellows of the American College of Cardiology — Muhammad Sikander Akbar, Regina Chiu, Marlon Everett, John B. Gill, Matthew L. Kamin, Sanjay S. Mehta, Michelle C. Montpetit and Mumtaz Aziz Siddiqui. Congratulations and welcome!

Please keep your eyes open for the upcoming ILACC Councilor Positions elections.  In addition, this year in conjunction with elections a referendum will be distributed seeking your opinion on the recently added Practice Manager Board of Councilors position. Your vote counts!

Best regards,

Diane Wallis, M.D., FACC
Governor, Illinois Chapter of the ACC