2009 is off to a great start. Illinois chapter has been diligently planning many events and activities for you in 2009. If you have not paid your 2009 ACC dues, I encourage your renewal so you can maintain your valuable ACC and IL-ACC Chapter benefits. These benefits include: member rates for ACC's upcoming Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, educational programs and products, uninterrupted receipt of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, access to Cardiosource CV news, national and local advocacy efforts, professional development, and chapter activities designed to directly benefit you.  This is a critical time for cardiology and your identification as an FACC denotes the highest achievement in cardiovascular medicine.  Your association with the ACC and these outstanding benefits 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 . Thank you for your membership. Save the Date for PrMS 2009 Back to Top 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! 2007 PQRI Report Released Back to Top The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new report entitled, "Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI): 2007 Reporting Experience." The report provides a detailed analysis of the 2007 PQRI reporting experience and outlines some of the challenges and successes of the 2007 program. Specifically, the report describes several issues identified for 2007 and CMS’s plans for modifications to the analytics for the 2008 PQRI. In addition, CMS will apply these modifications to the 2007 PQRI data and re-run the data. The report is available online on the CMS website. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Launches Medicare Enrollment System Back to Top The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched an online Medicare enrollment system for physician and non-physician practitioners. The Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) lets users submit, view and change their enrollment information and check the status of an enrollment application. It is currently available to practitioners in Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Idaho, Missouri, North Carolina, Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee, Kansas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. CMS expects to expand the system over the next two months to all states and next year to all health care providers and suppliers, except suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies. For details on submitting a Medicare enrollment application via the system, visit the CMS website. Illinois Chapter Receives ACC Grants Back to Top The chapter recently applied for financial assistance from the ACC to help develop a number of programs for the chapter and its members. We are pleased to announce that the Chapter received two grants totaling $8,000 to assist in the development and support of its statewide STEMI initiative in cooperation with the AHA mission lifeline and Fellows-In-Training programs.  Thank you to all those who helped put these applications together.  If you have any questions about these programs or would like to volunteer, please don’t hesitate to contact the chapter office. Illinois Chapter Leaders Travel to Washington, D.C. Back to Top The leadership of the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Cardiology will be traveling to Washington DC for the Annual ACC Leadership Conference on January 30-31.  Led by Governor-Elect Dr. Jerome Hines, the chapter will finalize goals, initiatives, and other important items for the Illinois chapter.  If you've any questions or issues you'd like to leadership to discuss, please contact the chapter office.  Contact information can be found at www.ilacc.org. Best regards, Diane Wallis, M.D., FACC Governor, Illinois Chapter of the ACC