From the Governor

I hope everyone is staying warm and planning for a delightful Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends. Thanksgiving is a celebration rooted to celebrate the Harvest in the fall.  As we give thanks for the people, opportunities, and possessions in our lives, please join me in thanking our colleagues across the state for the contributions they have made to the IL-ACC and the cardiovascular profession in Illinois.  Thank you!

• IL-ACC CCA Symposium was a huge success

  The Lindner Conference Center in Lombard, Illinois, on Saturday, October 25, was packed with people eager to hear about new advances and treatments of cardiovascular disease at the First CCA Symposium. More than 50 CCA members and nonmembers attended the program. This inaugural event was supported by an educational grant from the American College of Cardiology as well as several industry representatives who were present to display and answer any and all questions. The Illinois Chapter ACC partnered with the ACC Foundation to award attendees a total of 3.25 hours of continuing education.  Dr. Hines, president-elect of the Illinois ACC Chapter, opened the meeting up by underscoring the need for the cardiovascular care team. As cardiologists age and the workforce shrinks, the population at risk for cardiovascular disease will continue to increase, and integration of a team approach is essential for future patient care. The symposium faculty provided up-to-date presentations on sleep apnea, venous disease, cardiac markers, metabolic syndrome, CT angiography, and atrial fibrillation ablation. Attendees commented that they were able to walk away with important knowledge that can be incorporated into their everyday practice to improve the outcomes of patients with known or suspected cardiovascular disease. A special thanks to IL-ACC Board of Councilors CCA Representative Julie Benson for all her hard work on this wonderful event. 

  Based on the tremendous success of our First CCA Symposium, we are eager to begin planning the second conference for 2009. Stay tuned for more details.  If you would like to be involved with the CCA symposium please contact Andy Shelp at the IL-ACC office at andys@ilacc.org andys@ilacc.org.

• ACC Medical Directors Institute Meeting

  The ACC held its seventh annual Medical Directors’ Institute (MDI) this month. This year's meeting was the largest ever, with 100 participants, including ACC leaders, health plan representatives, and other stakeholders. The meeting was attended by IL-ACC members Vincent Bufalino, chair of the ACC Advocacy committee and CCHIT member, Robert Hendel, founding father of the Appropriateness Criteria and current Chair of the Appropriate Use Criteria Implementation and Evaluation Working Group, who presented preliminary point of service pilot data; Dr. Michael O’Toole, IL-ACC and ACC Informatics Committee member; and Dr. Diane Wallis, Governor, Illinois ACC. The primary focus was “efficiency,” and the lack of a standardized definition among payers, physicians, policymakers and patients. In an effort to address this issue, MDI participants heard from CMS and public (AHRQ), private (NQF), for-profit (WellPoint) and non-profit (PHRI) stakeholders about their strategies, initiatives and challenges in the health care efficiency arena. Robert Hendel received an award from the College for his Role on the Development of Appropriateness Criteria. Congratulations, Dr. Hendel!

   

• HIT-Carrot or the Stick?

  Advisers to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have suggested that the best way to encourage widespread health information technology (HIT) adoption is to withhold Medicare payment for physicians who refuse to adopt health information technology. These kinds of penalties likely will be included in legislation to be taken up by the next Congress. In an effort to keep our members ahead of the "stick" approach, stay tuned to for more information for the IL-ACC Annual Symposium, which will be devoted to the adoption of HIT.

   

• Mark Your Calendars Now!

  Mark your calendars NOW to join cardiovascular professionals from across Illinois at the IL-ACC Practice Management Symposium: "Electronic Health Records — Winners and Losers" on May 8, 2009.
  Topics will include:

  • Learning experiences: what not to do
  • EHR adoption
  • E-prescribing
  • EHR workflow and staffing issues
  • EHR hospital experiences
  • And much more

  The event will also feature case studies surrounding EHR in large, medium and small practices.  EHR and other vendors will be in attendance at the vendor fair, ready to provide any information you might need on products. Finally, get a glimpse at cardiology in 2010: wWe will discuss the fallout from MIPPA and the presidential election.  Please continue to look for more announcements as we approach May 8. The IL-ACC looks forward to seeing you there.

   

   

• Pay Member Dues Early; Win Valuable Prizes

  Israel D. Garcia, M.D., F.A.C.C., and Mark D. Wittry, M.D., F.A.C.C., are the winners of ACC's early-payment dues drawing for September. Drs. Garcia and Wittry both received one round-trip domestic airline ticket. Two drawings for early dues payment remain: 10 winners will be chosen for complimentary 2010 memberships among those who have paid 2009 dues by Oct. 31, and 25 winners will be chosen from among those who have paid their dues by Nov. 30 to receive one of ACCF's valuable self-assessment products. To pay your 2009 ACC dues and be eligible for these drawings, please click here for the secure online dues payment page. Pay by phone by contacting the ACC Resource Center toll-free at (800) 253-4636, ext. 5603 or directly at (202) 375-6000. You might be the next winner!
• MIPPA and SGR Payment Highs and Lows

  The MIPPA and SGR payment update for 2009 (“CMS Final Rule”) was officially published this week for implementation January 1.  For cardiology practices these are the highlights and low lights:

  1. Potential 2% increase if you participate in PQRI and another 2% for e-prescribing if you successfully report.
  2. While there was a 1.1% payment update from MIPPA, the movement of the Budget neutrality factor in the payment equation offsets that increase for most practices with imaging (moving BNF from work RVU to the conversion factor dropped the CF 5.3%).
  3. EKG's dropped 10%.
  4. Echo and stress echo have new codes with bundled color flow and Doppler with an approximate 25% reduction when comparing the current 3 codes to the new 93306 and 93351.
  5. There are 23 new remote monitoring, transtelephonic, and interrogation codes.  RVU values have changed on all and global periods have been assigned to several of the new codes.

  The 2009 IL-ACC Annual Symposium will focus on tools that may allow all practices, big or small, to participate in PQRI and eRx awards. Although not particularly exciting, changes are far better than the original 15% SGR cut, and the IDTF provisions that would have occurred without physician efforts (including the IL-ACC) to turn things around.

Best regards,

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