IL-ACC Newsletter
September 2010
Dr. Morton Arnsdorf Memorial Information from the University of Chicago
Dear Colleagues,
In memory of Dr. Morton Arnsdorf, the annual Cardiovascular Sciences
Research Day has been renamed the Morton Arnsdorf Cardiovascular Sciences
Research Day.
A Memory Blog has been created in which you can write your recollections of
Mort. This will be cherished by his family and the Section. You can also
make a contribution to help fund the Morton Arnsdorf Cardiovascular Sciences
Research Day by visiting the blog at:
https://med-www02.bsd.uchicago.edu/339/InMemoryFE
The blog can also be accessed by visiting the ‘Quicklinks’ section on the
left-hand side of the Section of Cardiology home page from the Department of
Medicine Website.
Mort’s career at the University of Chicago spanned 40 years and touched all
our lives in positive and often transformative ways. He was a physician,
scientist, friend and mentor throughout his life. Thus, it is appropriate
that we dedicate our annual research day to honor his legacy.
The day begins with a keynote address from a nationally prominent leader in
cardiovascular research, selected by the faculty. Over the course of the
day, which is ably organized by Dr. Eric Svensson, ~70 abstracts and oral
presentations are made by trainees and faculty. Participants come not only
from Cardiology but also Surgery, Nursing and other Basic and Clinical
Departments. The day culminates with the awarding of prizes for excellence
in Basic and Clinical sciences.
Your gift is appreciated and will continue to fund an event that highlights
clinical and scientific discovery, something Dr. Arnsdorf felt very
passionate about.
Finally, the Section is hosting a Memorial Service for Mort at Rockefeller
Chapel on Wednesday, September 15 at 12:00 p.m. I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Stephen L. Archer MD, FRCP(C), FAHA, FACC
Harold Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine
Chief, Section of Cardiology
University of Chicago
Department of Medicine,
Section of Cardiology
IL-ACC Now On LinkedIn
The Illinois ACC Chapter now has a professional networking group on LinkedIn and invites you to join the IL-ACC group. You will need to sign up to be a LinkedIn member before you can accept this invitation. This group is a member-only benefit of your membership with IL-ACC. Please use your ACC membership e-mail when signing up for LinkedIn as this email has been pre-approved to be accepted when you join the IL-ACC group.
LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals that connects you to other professionals with the goal of sharing contacts, ideas, opportunities, and more. In the IL-ACC group, you will be able to network with your peers, share information and resources.
If you have any questions, please contact the Chapter office us at ilacc@ilacc.org. Thank you!
IL-ACC CCA Symposium - November 6, 2010
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Lindner Conference Center
610 East Butterfield Rd.
Lombard, IL 60148
630.705.8400
Registration will be available soon.
ACC November Event: Evolving Models of Cardiovascular Practice Symposium
Registration is now open for the next Evolving Models of Cardiovascular Practice Symposium in Naples, Fla., Nov. 5-6. The conference will help physicians and/or practice administrators make the best decisions for their practice given the changing health care environment. Learn more.
From ACC Cardiosource: Federal Government EHR Incentive Program
Numerous studies have demonstrated the advantages of electronic health records (EHRs) over paper records, including increased quality of patient care. Despite these studies, many physicians have been reluctant to make the necessary capital investments in EHRs for a number of reasons, including cost. To help overcome some of these hurdles, the federal government has developed an EHR incentive program to encourage physicians to purchase and use EHR programs. The final regulations for the program were issued on July 13, 2010. The ACC has developed a new detailed analysis that focuses on the requirements for physicians who primarily practice in an outpatient setting. The analysis looks at questions to consider before participating; eligibility requirements; reporting requirements; meaningful use definitions; EHR certification criteria; and more. Read the complete analysis.
Critically Significant ACC Partnership with SCAI
by Jack Lewin, August 23, 2010
The ACC last week announced its partnership with the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) to provide accreditation of hospitals where invasive cardiac and endovascular procedures happen. The Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) organization will review hospitals and then accredit those that achieve predetermined benchmarks for quality care that have been shown by the literature to improve patient care. Right now, ACE is providing accreditation for hospitals that do carotid artery stenting, but it plans to expand to other procedures like PCI. The accreditation lasts for two years, and then hospitals must be reviewed again. Several hospitals have already applied for the accreditation.
SCAI and ACC have formed a board to oversee the project, which will be chaired by SCAI Past President Bonnie Weiner, who has very much championed this project from its inception.
Recent studies have shown accreditation improves patient outcomes and enhances patient safety standards, and ACE is designed to transfer those academic findings into a real-world application. By developing accreditation standards in this area, we are taking further steps toward our goal of providing excellent care in all facilities where invasive cardiac procedures are performed. The ink is just beginning to dry on the Agreement between ACC and SCAI to establish ACE. You’ll be hearing a lot more about the ACE offerings as we begin to roll out the program. Facilities seeking ACE accreditation can obtain more information and complete the application process at www.cvexcel.org.
ACC/ACP Recruiting practices for CMS Demonstration
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) are planning to respond collaboratively to a CMS-sponsored demonstration project pertaining to advanced imaging studies. The purpose of the Medicare Imaging Demonstration (MID) is to measure and assess the impact that decision support systems (DSS) have on the appropriateness and utilization of advanced medical imaging services when used by physician practices prescribing to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Medical imaging procedures are being performed at rising rates leading to increases in both costs and unnecessary and unbeneficial care. ACC is developing a point of care DSS based upon appropriate use criterion. This tool offers a more transparent and less severe method of delivering cost-effective care then that provided through the use of Radiology Benefit Manager’s (RBMs). The tool includes no denials and rather facilitates decision making and improvement by local physicians. Through this demonstration we hope to learn whether the use of DSS's can improve the quality of patient care and reduce the use of expensive and unnecessary imaging services.
ACC and ACP are currently recruiting cardiology and general internal medicine practices to be a part of this demonstration. We are looking for 35-40 committed practices (15-20 cardiology groups; 20-30 general internal medicine groups) that will use the DSS for a 2-year period during the project. CMS will be providing monetary incentives (up to $20K per year) for participating practices. ACC and ACP will be reviewing applications during the first two weeks of September. There will be two open calls the week of September 6th for questions and comments. Interested parties should respond with their call availability for September 7th and 9th.
Please complete this short survey ASAP, so that we can best accommodate you:
NOTE: This survey has been updated since the last email
Resources:
For more information please review the Solicitation for Proposals for the Medicare Imaging Demonstration at:
http://www.cms.gov/demoprojectsevalrpts/md/itemdetail.asp?itemid=CMS1222075
Appropriate Use Criteria:
RNI: http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/j.jacc.2009.02.013
MRI/CT: http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/reprintframed/48/7/1475
In the interim please contact Starr Webb with any questions 202-375-6302 swebb@acc.org |
