News from the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Cardiology
 Indiana-ACC Newsletter, May 2020
President's Message
Donald R. Westerhausen, Jr., MD, FACC
Westerhausen
Dear Indiana-ACC Colleague,

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced cardiovascular practices to adapt to new processes with staff and patient scheduling and test selection. While we understand that there will be various protocols for deciding on specific cardiovascular imaging tests largely based on practice, clinician, and patient preference, there is a concern that payers and radiology benefit managers (RBMs) are not approving these tests. The ACC developed this “open” letter to health plans and their RBMs to support the flexibility and preference necessary when ordering specific diagnostic tests during the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate patient and clinician exposure risk.

Additionally, the ACC would like to better understand your experience with prior authorizations under new COVID-19 protocols. Please visit https://www.acc.org/partool to let us know:
  • Are the RBMs requiring exercise stress testing?
  • Are your requests for stress echo, SPECT, PET, CCTA, and CMR being approved?
  • Which payers and RBMs are causing the most difficulty?

Don't Ignore Heart Symptoms
To encourage patients to pay close attention to their symptoms and call 9-1-1 immediately if they believe they are having a heart attack or stroke, ACC's CardioSmart team developed the Coronavirus and Your Heart Infographic. The infographic urges patients not to ignore symptoms, especially if they have a heart condition, and reassures them that hospitals have safety measures to protect patients from infection with the novel coronavirus. Access additional patient resources on this topic. 

Considerations For Cardiovascular Professionals and Practices During COVID-19
Please take a look at this article, which gives advice about an array of topics. If you scroll all the way down in the article, there is an excellent example of Handling Requests From Patients For Work Exemption.

Registries
The American College of Cardiology will use the NCDR Chest Pain-MI and CathPCI registries to track and analyze the relationship between COVID-19 and heart disease. 

Well-Being
It is important that we are mindful of our well-being at this challenging time. Please take a look at these excellent resources:


Contact Us
If Gwen Goldfarb, our chapter executive, or I can be of assistance to you, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Don

Congratulations to New AACCs and FACCs
Congratulations to our members who recently attained their AACC and FACC designations!
AACC
Constance A. Adams, MS, RN, CCNS, CCRN, AACC
Andrea L. Price, CPHQ, RCIS, AACC
Ann E. Rademaker, NP, AACC
April Sawyers, AGACNP-BC, MSN, AACC
Angela S. Starkey, NP, AACC
Laura J. Tindall, ANP-BC, AACC

FACC
Hamza Zaheer Ansar, MD, FACC
Abdel Ghani Mazen Antabtawi, MD, FACC
Bassel Artin, MD, FACC
Aneel Kumar Bole, MBBS, FACC
Suparna Chandra Clasen, MD, FAC
Vijay K. Chilakamarri, MD, FACC.
Anshuman Das, MD, FACC
Daniel Hugenberg, MD, FACC
Ramesh C. Kashinath, MBBS, FACC
Nathan D. Lambert, MD, FACC
Mohammed Eid Madmani, MD, FACC
Larry Wayne Markham, MD, FACC
Mark A. Meier, MD, FACC
Errol Nargileci, MD, FACC
Mukund Dahyabhai Patel, MBBS, FACC
Ling Abigail Qin-Nelson, DO, FACC
Nathan James Reed, MD, FACC
Andrew Sampson, MD, FACC
David Stewart, MD, FACC
Virtual Webinar Series
We have had a robust series of five webinars covering topics from telemedicine to practice restarts. Let us know if there is a topic that you would like us to address. We want to bring you education that helps!


Additional PPE Now Available through Local Health Departments
The ISDH has begun distributing a recent large delivery of PPE, including N95s, surgical masks and face shields, through local health departments.

These supplies are being made available to medical and other health care professionals who are not associated with a hospital or who otherwise do not have access to these supplies. Based on these mask recommendations, ISDH has also asked local health departments to distribute N95 respirators only to professionals who conduct aerosol-generating procedures and to limit the quantities of each item based on the number of staff in each medical office. ISDH respectfully asks that you be mindful when requesting these limited supplies, especially N95s, which have been an unusually scarce resource throughout the pandemic.

If you need these supplies, contact your county or city health department now to submit a request and coordinate pick-up. Contact information for each local health department is available here. Fishers practitioners should contact the Hamilton County Health Department.

Conserving and reusing PPE
Everyone who receives PPE should continue to practice strategies for conserving and optimizing PPE. In addition, to supplement the ongoing conservation practices, the ISDH has partnered with the Battelle Memorial Institute to bring the Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) to Indiana. This system will enable physicians and others to decontaminate N95 respirators up to 20 times. Note: all N-95s will need to be free of any contaminants or stains such as makeup and blood.

This system is available for use free of charge to providers and facilities across Indiana. To use the Battelle CCDS, physicians must enroll in this program. After enrollees complete the enrollment form, Battelle will email links to the enrollment contract, instructions, and their Battelle point of contact (POC).

Please see this presentation and this letter for more information on using the Battelle system.
Clinical Trials Research: Upping Your Game
Today’s global health care crisis has highlighted how fundamental a strong medical research workforce is to our healthcare system. As the cardiovascular profession presses forward, the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) vision of a ‘world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes’, has never had a clearer purpose.

In support of our ongoing efforts to build a diverse and excellent clinical research workforce, ACC is seeking applicants for its extended Clinical Trials Research: Upping Your Game program. This exciting, year-long program offers a one-year curriculum, networking and mentoring opportunities for cardiovascular professionals seeking to up their game in the quest for new science.

The gravity of the COVID-19 situation and its many impacts on the entire health care community will undoubtedly challenge our workforce in unexpected ways for years to come. ACC stands by its members as they address the immediate challenges of today and seeks to build leaders for the changing tomorrow.

Details regarding qualifications, eligibility and the application process are available at www.acc.org/CTR2020.

Please reach out to diversity@acc.org if you have any questions.

This program made possible through support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and personal contributions to the ACC's Campaign for the Future. 
Invite Your CV Team Colleagues to Join ACC
Special Membership Promotion
The American College of Cardiology typically takes the entire month of May to mark National Nurses Week and celebrate the contributions of nurses to optimizing care and patient outcomes.

This isn't a typical May; that much is certain. The work our CV team colleagues do, though, is as – and maybe even more – important than ever. That's why, for a limited time, we're offering CV Team complimentary membership through 2021.

Invite your colleagues to join for free using code "HereForYou" at checkout via this link.
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