Help Increase Funding for Heart Disease, Stroke Research
The American Heart Association has started a petition to ask President Obama for more money to fight heart disease and stroke. The President is building a budget for the future investment in medical research and programs -- so now is a great opportunity to speak out for a significant increase in funds dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Sign the AHA petition asking President Obama to provide a dramatic increase in funding for research, prevention and treatment programs that will help reduce the deadly toll of heart disease and stroke.

Comment Deadline Approaching for Proposed Fee Schedule
The deadline for public comments on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is August 31. With that in mind, it is critical that ACC members across the country contact their respective members of Congress and urge them to stop the drastic cuts from being implemented. Congress needs to hear about the impacts of these proposed cuts as they relate to practice viability and patient care. ACT NOW! In the House, Reps. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) and Mike Rogers (R-MI) are circulating a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, expressing concerns regarding the proposed rule and the data used to justify the practice expense cuts. Patient materials are available for download at www.acc.org/can.

CCA Leader Encourages Action on Proposed Fee Schedule
ACC’s blog, The Lewin Report, today features commentary from Margo Minissian, ACNP-BC, MSN, CNS, Chair of the CCA Chapter Liaison Working Group and Co-Chair of the Cardiovascular Team Council. Minissian discusses the importance of the entire care team meeting with their lawmakers on issues important to the cardiovascular community. She writes, “WE are the experts on health care and our lawmakers need us to get up-to-date on the different issues.” She discusses how important it is for the cardiovascular team to contact their lawmakers about the proposed 2010 Physician Fee Schedule before the August 31 comment deadline. Read the post in full and comment.

Results of Value-Based Purchasing Demos Released
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 17 announced the results of three demonstrations testing the effects of offering financial incentives for improving or delivering high quality care. The demonstrations, which were part of a CMS value-based purchasing initiative, took place in three care settings: large physician practices, small physician practices and hospitals. CMS says that the results of the demonstration “continue to provide strong evidence that offering financial incentives for improving or delivering high quality care increases quality and can reduce the growth in Medicare expenditures.” More information about the specific demonstrations is available online.

FDA News Updates
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved CryoLife Inc.’s heart patch, called the CryoPatch SG. The patch is intended to be used to repair the right ventricular outflow tract, which is commonly performed in pediatric congenital heart disease patients. More information is available from CryoLife Inc.

The FDA recently issued a Class 1 recall of various parts of Cardinal Health’s Alaris system electronic infusion pumps, which deliver controlled amounts of medications or other fluids. The company has identified five problems affecting Alaris, including failure of the occlusion warning message, syringe volume warning message, electrostatic discharge protection circuitry and fluid ingress tubing. The failures may result in patients experiencing under- or over-infusion, which may result in serious injury or death. More coverage is available from Cardiovascular Business magazine.

Put Patients at Center of Reform, Iowa Chapter President Says
President of ACC’s Iowa Chapter Craig Clark, M.D., F.A.C.C., recently was featured as a guest columnist on the Des Moines Register. Clark writes, “[I]n all of the talk about plans and payments, the most important aspect of all must not be left out: the patient.” He discusses the importance of focusing on the patient in designing reform because if “focus on patients, we will simultaneously increase quality and reduce expenses, making our system viable in the long term, so we can provide access to quality care for all Americans.” Read the column in full on qualityfirst.acc.org.