Ohio-ACC Newsletter, December 2023 |
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Dear Ohio-ACC Colleague,
As our year of activities wraps up, I wanted to share some highlights from The Ohio-ACC 2023 Annual Meeting held on Saturday, September 30, at the Hilton Columbus at Easton. Special thanks to our co-chairs, Nathaniel Dittoe, MD, FACC and Ellen Sabik, MD, FACC along with their committee for putting together a wonderful program. Sharonne N. Hayes, MD, FACC, FAHA, presented the Richard Lewis Memorial Lecture. Other highlights included: ACC Incoming Vice President Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC, presenting "What Is Impacting CV Clinicians in 2023," EP topics on the evaluation of ventricular arrhythmias and interventions to improve patient outcomes, a session on devices in heart failure exploring implantable pulmonary artery pressure monitoring and LVAD placement, leading cardiovascular clinicians discussing medical treatments for HOCM and emerging PAH therapies, and the popular Fellow in Training oral abstract competition and a state-of-the-art antithrombotic therapies session. Take a look at all of the photos here!
Oral Competition 1st place: Anna Hay, MD, The Ohio State University
Oral Competition 2nd place: Abdallah Masri, MD, Canton Medical Education Foundation/Aultman Hospital/NEOMED
1st year Fellow Case – TIE
Gabriel Bahrami, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital
Mehmet Yildiz, The Christ Hospital
2nd year Fellow Case
Rachel Wester, DO, Doctors Hospital/OhioHealth
2nd year Fellow Research
Zachary Gilbert, MD, Kettering Health
3rd year Fellow Case – TIE
Gillian Belnavis, MD, The Ohio State University
Zeid Nesheiwat, DO, MPH, The University of Toledo
3rd year Fellow Research
Beni Verma, MD, CWRU/MetroHealth
Resident Competition
Hafez Golzarian, DO, MBA, Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center
Save the Date for 2024 Ohio-ACC Spring Summit
Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 20, 2024, for the Ohio-ACC Spring Summit in Cleveland. Kim Eagle, MD, MACC, will present the Carl J. Wiggers Memorial Lecture. Stay tuned for complete details!
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ACC Legislative Conference
ACC’s 2023 Legislative Conference was Oct. 15-17, in Washington, DC, where Ohio-ACC members joined ACC members across the country to lobby for issues impacting our patients and profession:
- Provide short-term stability and long-term reform to the Medicare payment system to ensure practices can keep up with inflationary pressures and rising practice costs.
- Decrease administrative burden and promote clinician well-being by streamlining prior authorization practices.
- Expand patient access to cardiac rehabilitation services.
- Support coverage for peripheral artery disease (PAD) screening and PAD education and awareness programs.
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Establish funding for secondary and elementary schools to provide education, awareness and access to defibrillation.
CV Organizations Pursue New, Independent Medical Board
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The ACC, Heart Failure Society of America, Heart Rhythm Society, and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions have announced plans to submit an application to the American Board of Medical Specialties, requesting an independent medical board for cardiovascular medicine that would pursue a new competency-based approach to continuous certification. “It’s time to have a dedicated cardiovascular medicine Board of our own,” said ACC President B. Hadley Wilson, MD, FACC. “…We know that the cardiovascular community is ready for an independent, self-governed entity, and we are proud to develop this new Board with cardiologists and cardiology organizations at the helm.” Learn more. |
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Contact Us
If Gwen Goldfarb, our chapter executive, or I can be of assistance to you, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Kanny
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Support of AED Legislation |
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On Dec. 6, the Ohio Senate Health Committee held its second hearing on H.B. 47, a priority bill for the National Football League’s Smart Heart Sports Coalition and the Ohio-ACC. Sponsored by state Reps. Richard Brown (OH-5) and Adam Bird (OH-63), the bill would require AEDs in schools and many municipal sports facilities in the state and mandate the adoption of emergency action plans and training for staff.
Kanny S. Grewal, MD, FACC, joined partners from the Smart Heart Sports Coalition including two cardiologists representing Community Heart Watch and the Association of Black Cardiologists to testify in support of this life-saving legislation.
“Tragedies unfold when young athletes experience sudden cardiac events during school sporting events,” said Grewal. “In these critical moments, the presence of an AED and trained staff is indispensable. Studies have shown that in schools equipped with AEDs, approximately 85% of children survive cardiac arrest.”
The committee is expected to vote on H.B. 47 in January. If enacted, Ohio will join several states like Louisiana, Kentucky, and Indiana, that have taken steps to prevent sudden cardiac arrest among young athletes in the past year.
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CardiOhio Podcast
Acute Heart Failure: New Therapies, New Devices, and Management Pearls
Controversies and Consensus with Atrial Fibrillation: An Experts’ Roundtable
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Albert Waldo, master clinician, educator, researcher, and mentor.
A Focus on the CV Team: Innovative Programs and Improved Outcomes
Reflections of a Master Clinical Trialist
Something In the Air: A New Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease
The New Troponins: A Highly Sensitive Topic
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URGENT: Next Steps to Stop the Cut |
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Your ACC is urging members of Congress to co-sponsor the Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023 (H.R. 6683), introduced by Representatives Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC), Danny Davis (D-IL), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), and Michael Burgess, MD (R-TX), which would eliminate the impending 3.37% cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
A full fix to the 3.37% cut is necessary to combat the lack of any inflationary update despite clinicians and practices facing significant inflationary cost pressure. Physicians are the only providers that do not receive an automatic inflationary update within Medicare. Medicare physician payments have dropped by 26% from 2001 to 2022 when adjusted for inflation, while practice expenses have risen by 47% over the same period. Clinicians simply cannot afford to continue to operate under the current payment system. We must act now to prevent this cut from taking effect in the New Year.
Addressing this cut is critical to maintaining stable, consistent access to patient care. While short-term adjustments to the 2024 PFS will not create a long-term solution to the problematic Medicare payment system, we must protect patients now while we work together on lasting reform.
Please immediately urge your members of Congress to address this pending cut by co-sponsoring the Preserving Seniors’ Access to Physicians Act of 2023 (H.R. 6683) today.
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Fellows in Training News
Brianna French, MD, and Andrew Hornick, MD, Co-Chairs
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Ohio-ACC Grand Rounds Series
Join us for our next installment of the Ohio-ACC FIT Grand Rounds Series: Career Development
Top Ten Things Young Physicians Need to Know about Finance
12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 16, 2024
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CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule on Nov. 2. Of note, the 2024 PFS conversion factor is $32.7375, reduced 3.39% from $33.8872 in 2023. Overall reimbursement for cardiovascular services is projected to remain flat compared with 2023, with changes to policies and individual services roughly balancing out. Individuals and groups will see different impacts depending on patient populations and services offered.
ACC.24
Get everything you need to transform cardiovascular care for your patients at ACC.24, April 6–8, inAtlanta! Connect with your colleagues from around the world, explore the latest science and innovation,and gain valuable insights into practice-changing-updates in care. Register for ACC.24, and get a one-year subscription to ACC Anywhere, ACC’s comprehensive video library, included with your registration!Can’t join us in Atlanta? Register for ACC.24 @ Home and join us virtually to live stream the late-breaking science being presented throughout ACC.24.
Upcoming Free CME/CE - Certified Opioid REMS Education
Clinical Care Options cordially invites you to attend a certified live webinar titled, “Applying Best Practices in Pain Management: Delivering Holistic Patient-Centered Care to Minimize Health Disparities and Adverse Opioid Outcomes.” This activity will improve the knowledge, competence, and performance of learners to optimize treatment for patients with pain management. For full accreditation information and to register: www.clinicaloptions.com/OpioidREMSevent
New ACC/AHA Guideline Focuses for the Diagnosis and Management of AFib
The newest clinical guideline released by the ACC and the American Heart Association (AHA) provides new and updated recommendations for preventing and optimally managing atrial fibrillation (AFib). The 2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation updates two separate guidelines from 2014 and 2019, respectively, and includes new recommendations addressing AFib and thromboembolic risk assessment, anticoagulation, left atrial appendage occlusion, AFib catheter or surgical ablation, as well as risk factor modification and prevention. Among the highlights, are a stronger, more prescriptive focus on healthy lifestyle habits to prevent or lessen the burden of AFib across the disease continuum, including weight loss, physical activity, smoking cessation, alcohol moderation, hypertension and other comorbidities. Use of clinical care pathways, such as nurse-led AFib clinics, is also reasonable, according to the guideline, when it comes to “promoting comprehensive, team-based care and to enhance adherence to evidence-based therapies for AFib and associated conditions.” The guideline also sets forth a new way to classify AFib, using stages that reinforce the continuum of the disease and underscore the need to use a variety of strategies, including prevention, lifestyle and risk factor modification, screening, and therapy. Additionally, early and more aggressive rhythm control in general is addressed, along with upgraded recommendations for catheter ablation as first-line therapy to prevent disease progression in select patients, including those with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
Restrictive Covenants and Non-Compete Clauses
Attention NPs and PAs
Demonstrate your clinical knowledge and commitment to cardiovascular excellence by taking and passing ACC's Certified Cardiovascular Knowledge Examination (CCKE). Find out more.
CardioSmart is the ACC’s dedicated home for patient tools and resources, including infographics, shared decision-making aids, and more. Find information on specific clinical conditions, health lifestyle choices and more at CardioSmart.org.
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