If you have not paid your 2009 ACC dues, The ILACC Board of Councilors encourages your renewal by December 31st so you can maintain your valuable ACC and ILACC Chapter benefits.  These benefits include: Member rates for ACC's upcoming Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, as well as other ACC and ILACC educational programs and products are all dependent on your current dues status.  In addition, your uninterrupted receipt of JACC, access to Cardiosource, and chapter activities designed to benefit you directly are more valuable than ever; please feel free to contact the Chapter office about our work on your behalf and visit our website at www.ilacc.org.   This is a critical time for cardiology and your identification with the ACC and ILACC.  The specialized information resources through ACC and the Chapter, including opportunities to support our mutually beneficial efforts all rest on your annual dues payment. To pay your 2009 ACC dues, please go to www.acc.org/dues for the secure online dues payment page. To pay your dues over the phone please contact the ACC Resource Center toll-free at (800) 253-4636, ext. 5603 or directly at (202) 375-6000. To contact the Resource Center via email, please send a message to resource@acc.org From the Governor 2008 has been a tremendous year for the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (IL-ACC) on all fronts.  The Chapter Leadership and its management company (Ewald Consulting) staff worked extremely hard to bring the IL-ACC back to sound financial footing, to not only maintain traditional activities, but also improve them, and to develop new events and opportunities for IL-ACC to affect cardiac care. The Chapter held its Fifth Annual Practice Management Symposium at the University Club in downtown Chicago.  We heard from many FACCs and other regular attendees that the 2008 meeting was the best program they had attended in years.  We look forward to capturing this momentum to continue to improve the annual meeting this year on May 8, 2009.  Not only did we improve our chapter's traditional events as stated above, we were able to plan and execute two new events: the inaugural IL-ACC CCA Symposium and Illinois STEMI conference. The CCA Symposium was a major success, thanks to a grant provided by the ACC and the hard work of Chapter volunteers.  A significant portion of the attendees were not ACC members and many expressed interest in joining in 2009.  Evaluations and comments were overwhelmingly positive and expressed the desire to attend again in fall 2009. The second large event that IL-ACC launched in 2008 was the Illinois STEMI conference.  This was the first of its kind in Illinois and was planned and executed in conjunction with the American Heart Association's Midwest Affiliate, and Region V of the U.S. Public Health Service.  The goal was to ensure that Illinois citizens receive the best STEMI care regardless of where they are in Illinois. This meeting reviewed the rationale behind developing regional delivery of care within the framework of challenges faced by rural and metropolitan areas.  It took an in-depth look at successful systems delivering benchmark door to balloon times.  Lastly, it provided a foundation for future success through the formation of workgroups to begin translating such models into a statewide STEMI patient care plan with key stakeholders.  The task forces and work groups are currently planning the conference in 2009. The IL-ACC has volunteered to lead the STEMI Standards Committee. Keep your eyes open for more information coming soon. Financially, the IL-ACC had experienced financial hardships over the past few years. However, 2008 was dedicated to correcting this and returning IL-ACC to good financial standing. I'm pleased to say that through hard work and dedication of volunteers and staff alike, we predict the IL-ACC will finish in a cash positive position for 2008. This will serve as the foundation to building a financial reserve from which we can operate with security moving forward in 2009. As you can see, these are just a few highlights of what the chapter has accomplished in 2008.  Once again, thank you to all of the I-LACC members and volunteers.  We couldn't have done any of this without your support and dedication to the chapter and to excellent cardiac care. Have a wonderful holiday season. Federal Committee on HIT Formally Concludes Duties The federal advisory committee, American Health Information Community (AHIC), on Nov. 12 formally concluded its work. The committee was charged with determining recommendations for ways to accelerate the adoption of health information technology, to be given to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt. AHIC brought together more than 160 public and private sector health IT experts, and held 25 public meetings and 176 public AHIC workgroup meetings to develop recommendations for advancing health IT. Its work resulted in 200 recommendations that addressed a wide variety of enablers and barriers to health IT. For more information about AHIC's recommendations, visit the HHS Web site here. Save the date for PrMS 2009 Electronic Health Records - Winners and Losers May 8, 2009 University Club of Chicago 76 E Monroe St Chicago, IL 60603 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, come look at cardiology in 2010, where we 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! Urgent: Sunset of the Illinois Medical Practice Act Please contact your state senator today to urge support for Senate Bill 2179, legislation that will extend the sunset date on the Illinois Medical Practice Act. This Act provides for the licensure and discipline of physicians and is, of course, vital to continued access to quality care in Illinois.  The Act is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2008 and must be extended immediately. ISMS, along with others in the medical community, has been working diligently to urge action on this essential legislation. For more details and information click the following link.   http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/ilsms27338041.aspx IL-ACC Call to Action: Illinois EHR & HIT Adoption Survey Please take time to complete the IL-ACC EHR survey.  This survey is specifically designed to ask questions surrounding Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Health Information Technologies (HIT).  This data will be used for the May 8, 2009 Annual Practice Management Symposium and allow us to identify EHR and HIT system adoption successes and issues. Your opinion is very important to us, please take the time to complete the survey. It should take about ten minutes to complete. Thank you! CCA Representative Wanted It has been five years since ACC opened the membership category of Cardiac Care Associate (CCA) and welcomed Registered Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants who specialize in cardiovascular care and work on Cardiac Care Teams. In this short time since the CCA membership category was introduced, we have seen both local and national recognition of the importance of the cardiac care team as a whole. Nationally, CCA members have been invited to serve on the Cardiac Care Associate Committee, to serve as Cardiac Care State Liaisons, and to be a part of ACC committees, working groups, and task forces. This year's ACC Scientific Session included the Cardiac Care Spotlight which was an entire day of programming specifically targeting the educational needs of CCA members. In October we saw one of the first action items for the CCA agenda come to fruition with the program Foundations for Practice Excellence: A Core Curriculum for the Cardiovascular Clinician which was held at the Heart House in Washington, DC. Locally, we have seen our state membership grow to the fifth largest enrollment for CCA members with more than 150 members. We have held local networking and educational meetings. The IL-ACC Chapter Board of Councilors voted to change the state bylaws to include a CCA Representative as part of the Board. And most recently, our state held the First Annual Cardiac Care Associate Symposium which was a huge success. The New Year will bring more changes, including a new CCA Representative for our state. Initially this was an appointed role — but having had the opportunity to network with one another, the Board has voted to have CCA members nominate candidates for the role of CCA Representative. Once the Nominees are announced, a vote by CCA members only will be taken. If you are a current CCA member and have an interest in being part of the nominating committee or in being the IL-ACC Chapter CCA Representative, please contact the IL-ACC office. We want to list the nominees take a vote during the first quarter of 2009. I have truly enjoyed being a part of this milestone in ACC history. Serving in this role has given me the chance to meet many great professionals and the opportunity for both personal and professional growth. This role will give you the opportunity to advance your career, network with luminaries in your field, and have an impact inside the ACC at both a state and national level. I hope you will find it as rewarding as I have. Sincerely, Julie Benson CCA Representative to the ILACC Board of Councilors CMS to Host Call on 2007 PQRI The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Dec. 16 will host a conference call to discuss the final 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) reporting experience, as well as the program's results, from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. EST. The call will feature a question-and-answer period with CMS PQRI subject matter experts. Registration, which will close Dec. 15, is available here. The ACC is working to address concerns raised by members regarding the reporting mechanisms and feedback reports for the 2007 PQRI. The ACC is reaching out directly to CMS, as well as communicating with congressional offices key to the program's authorization. The ACC will continue to work with CMS to improve the PQRI program and address concerns so that physicians can improve their performance moving forward. New Health IT Resources Available The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released new tools to assist medical practitioners in adopting health information technology (HIT) and to participate in the new CMS e-prescribing incentive program. CMS released “Medicare's Practical Guide to the E-Prescribing Incentive Program,” which provides an overview of the program and how to participate. CMS also released the technical specifications for e-prescribing systems that must be present to qualify for the program. Under new Medicare law, beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, physicians who successfully e-prescribe will receive incentive payments of 2 percent of Medicare-allowed charges. The size of the incentive will decrease to 1 percent in 2011–2012 and 0.5 percent in 2013. Those who have not adopted e-prescribing by 2012 will be penalized by 1 percent of Medicare-allowed charges, with the penalties size growing in 2013 and beyond. Meanwhile, AHRQ released a “Health IT Adoption Toolbox,” which includes information on planning, executing and evaluating the implementation of HIT. More information and tools to assist physicians participating in this program are available on the ACC Web site at: http://www.acc.org/HealthIT. Presentations from E-Rx Conference Available for CME Credit Audiotapes and slides are now archived online from an October 2008 meeting hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and 34 partner organizations discussing the mechanics of implementing an e-prescribing program. The online audio and slides are available for Continuing Medical Education (CME) for physicians and pharmacists and are available with no registration or certificate fees. The CME program is sponsored by the Massachusetts Medical Society and CMS, in collaboration with the American Pharmacist Association. To listen and view the files, visit: www.massmed.org/cme/CMS_eprescribing. ACC, MedAxiom Hold Cardiac Device Webinar; Recording Now Available More than 400 cardiovascular professionals recently participated in a Webinar intended to assist ACC members in understanding revisions to cardiac device monitoring codes made in the final 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The Webinar, sponsored by ACC and MedAxiom, discussed changes to pacemakers and ICD interrogations and programming sessions, remote monitoring, ICMs and ILRs. CPT 2009 includes 23 new codes for reporting these services. Speaking on the Webinar were Bruce Wilkoff, M.D., F.A.C.C., director of cardiac pacing and tachyarrhythmia devices at the Cleveland Clinic, Linda Gates-Striby, CCS-P, ACS-CA, compliance manager at The Care Group, and Cathie Biga, president and CEO of Cardiovascular Management of Illinois. Wilkoff, Gates-Striby and Biga provided suggestions as to what practices can do now to start preparing for the changes. For program materials, including a recording of the Webinar, visit the Quality First Web site by clicking here. The ACC will continue to provide detailed information about the Physician Fee Schedule. Look to ACC.org and Cardiology for more information. Call to Action to Complete the AMA Physician Practice Information Survey The ACC, along with many other specialty societies, is jointly sponsoring the AMA Physician Practice Information Survey. Unfortunately, cardiology participation in the survey has been low and the ACC is asking all ACC members to follow the link below to check, whether you have been selected for this survey — and if so, to complete it.  The ACC is only halfway to the number needed to ensure that cardiology is adequately represented in the survey data. Data collection will close this month. Once again, please take time to visit the survey website by clicking Physician Practice Information Survey Website to determine whether you've been selected for the survey and complete it. I know that this is a busy time of year for everyone, but it's important that cardiology be represented in this survey. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Brian Whitman (bwhitman@acc.org or 202-375-6396) or Rebecca Kelly, Director of Regulatory Affairs (rkelly@acc.org or 202-375-6398). Best regards, Diane Wallis, M.D., FACC Governor, Illinois Chapter of the AC