Cardio-oncology is one of the fastest growing sections of ACC, and the Indiana-ACC has recently formed its own CardioOnc Section led by Dr. Vijay Rao. Cancer chemotherapy cardiotoxicities are becoming more prevalent which is why the cardiology community must be able to recognize and treat these conditions.

Please take 2 minutes to help the Indiana-ACC CardioOnc Section by completing this important survey to help identify key knowledge gaps in the state and guide the Indiana-ACC CardioOnc Section agenda over the coming months. Thank you in advance.

When we think about advocating for our patients or our profession, we think about going to Indianapolis or Washington, DC to speak with legislators . However, we can advocate for our patients with existing laws, too; we just need to know about them.

Case in point, I saw on Twitter that a Texas colleague indicated that he prescribed exercise equipment for patients who could then purchase the prescribed equipment tax-free. I responded on Twitter, wondering whether similar laws exist in Indiana. I wanted to investigate this further.

Gwen Goldfarb, Indiana-ACC’s executive director, contacted Michael Lawrence, ACC Senior Manager of State Government Affairs. Michael quickly informed us that based on Indiana law, it seems that most exercise equipment or “cardiac rehab” equipment would be tax exempt if prescribed and used exclusively for that reason. See excerpt below.

During the COVID crisis, most cardiac rehab locations were shut down or at least had very reduced volumes. From a survey of patients at one of my hospital system locations, 40% of patients (n=118) had equipment at home, some of which was purchased when COVID hit and cardiac rehab was closed. Fortunately, my staff took great notes so that I could reach out to patients to make sure they were aware of this sales tax exemption. I will also let the staff know at the six community locations that I collaborate with so patients are aware of this tax exemption when they start cardiac rehab. I hope this scenario highlights how we all can be patient advocates on a daily basis. 

CMS extended the Educational and Operations Testing Period for the AUC program through 2021. The testing period was slated to end on Dec. 31, but the ACC and others advocated for a delay to the official start of the program given the need for clinicians to focus resources and energy on changes to patient care and practice management as a result of COVID-19. Additional information is also available on the CMS AUC Program website and ACC’s AUC page, https://www.acc.org/auc.

The ACC's new Clinical Spotlight Series shines a light on best practices and emerging science across practice-changing topics in care. Ensure you are up to date on the safety and efficacy of the newest therapies, and cultivate your skills in applying the latest clinical information into patient care. Test your knowledge and sharpen your skills with all of the activities in the Clinical Spotlight Series.

Visit the new Heart Failure Center of Excellence resource page, a collaborative effort between the American College of Cardiology and Medscape focused on the prevention and treatment of heart failure. View commentary on the latest advances, perspectives, cases, and reviews from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) and JACC: Heart Failure.

ACC’s new CardioSmart website is designed to emphasize the value of the patient and clinician partnership to personalize care. With the goal of better connecting patients with their clinicians to prevent or treat heart disease, the new CardioSmart.org provides information on heart conditions and trusted resources and tools to support important health conversations and foster a strong partnership. “Our new website is user-friendly, for both health care professionals and patients. Clinicians can refer patients, and patients can effortlessly find the information they need to aid in making key health decisions,” said Martha Gulati, MD, FACC, editor-in-chief of CardioSmart. “We continue to evolve and develop the resources our members want for our patients, be an up-to-date reliable source for everyone and improve the ease with which everyone can access information, whether from a clinic setting or at home.” Learn more.