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The Pulse of ACC | CV Summit Posters, Cardiovascular Health Promotion Course and More
CV Summit Posters, Cardiovascular Health Promotion Course, More.
Reducing Barriers to CV Care and Professional Societies
While most physicians agree they are in a position to make a difference in minority health care, professional societies may need to help ease the burden of the growing barriers that affect prescribing and use of innovative cardiovascular therapies, according to survey results from the ACC and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC).
The survey looked at 159 active physician members of the ACC and ABC who practice in higher-poverty areas. Results highlighted concerns that minority patients are less likely to get new therapies (73 percent) and are more likely to receive lower quality care (71 percent).
Survey participants listed disparities in care (75 percent) at the top of the list of formulary restrictions that impact patients, followed by patient confusion, lack of understanding and medication discontinuation.
Several survey participants noted that socioeconomic factors like education, income and whether patients lived in urban or rural areas played greater roles in patient access than racial disparities.
"In my experience, gender and socioeconomic disparities supersede racial disparities when it comes to quality of care," said one participant. "Wealthy, highly-educated professionals receive better quality care, irrespective of race. Similarly, poor, uneducated, unemployed, socially-marginalized patients receive worse quality of care, irrespective of race."
The majority of cardiologists surveyed (79 percent) indicated they are in a position to help make a difference in minority health care. Among the suggestions: educating patients about their disease and treatment options and encouraging discussions about costs.
"In my experience, a higher proportion of minority patients are not willing to pay higher copays, participate in research or participate in preauthorization processes such as company financial aid processes," said one participant. "[Many] are not trusting and invested in health care, which is a significant barrier and cause of disparity."
The survey also showed that cardiovascular professionals want societies like the ACC and ABC to help with efforts ranging from educating trainees during their medical school residency about the barriers and biases in receiving adequate or appropriate health care, to providing tools to decrease the burden of prior authorization and improve patient access to new drugs and therapies.
Recently the ACC announced a new initiative that leverages prospective clinical registry data and partnerships spanning the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, health plans, employers, clinicians and patients to reduce the administrative burden associated with ensuring the most vulnerable heart disease patients have access to medications that can save their lives.
Several prior authorization reporting tools (PART) are also available to help inform where and how often imaging and drug-related denials are occurring.
"It boils down to money," said one survey respondent. "Are insurers willing to cover the more expensive procedure and do the patients have the means to cover the costs/copays?" "Whatever the ACC and ABC can do to change these variables in favor of the patients ... I wholeheartedly support."
Newest JACC Journals Accepting Submissions
The newest additions to the JACC family of journals, JACC: Case Reports and JACC: CardioOncology, are accepting submissions. JACC: Case Reports is accepting submissions in the categories of case reports, imaging vignettes, global health reports and Voices in Cardiology.
JACC: CardioOncology is accepting original articles on topics of interest including basic and translational mechanisms of cardiotoxicity; early diagnosis, risk stratification, prevention, and treatment of cardiotoxicity; and the multidisciplinary care of cancer patients and survivors at risk for cardiovascular disease.
The journals will begin publishing in June and September, respectively.
Learn more at JACC.org. Also see an interview with JACC: Case Reports Editor-in-Chief Julia Grapsa, MD, PhD, FACC.
Want to Know How to Win the Battle Against Heart Disease?
ACC's upcoming new Cardiovascular Health Promotion: Contemporary Approaches to Prevention course will provide important tips for how to win the battle against heart disease.
Being at the frontlines of the battle, cardiologists and members of the cardiac care team must shift the paradigm from management and treatment of disease to not only prevention but also to healthy lifestyles.
The Cardiovascular Health Promotion course taking place May 30-June 1 at ACC's Heart House in Washington, DC, will offer participants two days of evidence-based prevention strategies, tools and techniques, interactive case discussions and lively debates facilitated by cardiovascular experts in prevention.
Not able to attend? Follow along on ACC's Facebook and Twitter for live coverage during the event (use the #cvPrev hashtag).
Also, don't forget about the ACC and American Heart Association's new Primary Prevention Guideline, which provides a playbook for preventing and treating heart disease.
Visit the Prevention Guideline hub at ACC.org/Guidelines for quick reference materials, apps and tools, patient education and more.
ICYMI: CV Summit Posters Offer Innovative Best Practices
The ACC's 2019 Cardiovascular Summit held earlier this year offered a unique opportunity for participants to gain experience in how to effectively align strong leadership with innovative business strategies to achieve the Quadruple Aim – better care, smarter spending, workforce wellness and patient satisfaction.
Among the highlights were the 20 poster presentations addressing topics related to the business of cardiology and care delivery, cost reduction, implementation science, quality improvement and value-based care.
Each of the posters offers insights into novel ways hospitals and practices are finding to optimize care delivery and patient outcomes, whether through efforts like nurse navigator programs, multidisciplinary case reviews, incorporating clinical guidelines and appropriate use criteria into billing and/or electronic health record systems, and more.
Visit ACC.org/CVSummit2019 and click on the posters tab to view the posters. More information on the 2020 Cardiovascular Summit, including how to register and timing for poster submissions will be provided in the coming weeks.
Call for Nominations for ACC Vice President and Trustees
Recommendations to the ACC Nominating Committee are now being accepted for ACC Vice President and five open Board of Trustee (BOT) positions through July 1.
The application form, Vice President position description, and Trustee position description along with more details about the nomination process, requirements and ACC's leadership competencies are available at ACC.org/BOTNominations.
Nominations and supporting materials should be sent to Taylor Davis at tdavis@acc.org by July 1.
In addition to ACC's leadership competencies, prospective Trustee candidates should possess competencies essential to the functions of the Board of Trustees including:
- Member education and knowledge
- Comprehension of digital and informational technology
- Knowledge of health systems and institutional strategy
- Understanding of health policy, including quality and outcomes/population health
- Proficiency in education and research
Individual Trustees are not expected to possess all stated competencies above. However, the Board will need to contain these skillsets collectively.
Each Trustee will serve up to a three-year term. The Vice President serves a one-year term and is thereafter eligible to assume the position of ACC President.
To serve as Vice President, an individual must have first served at least one term on the BOT.
One of the Trustee positions is designated as Membership Committee Chair. One Trustee position will be Finance Committee Chair in 2021, serving as Finance Committee Chair-Elect beginning in 2020, and will assume role of Treasurer in 2021.
The Nominating Committee will meet this summer to consider all recommendations and will present a slate of nominations to the BOT for approval.
NCDR Study Looks at Real-World Implications of ABSORB II and III Trials
A new study using data from ACC's CathPCI Registry examines patterns in the uptake of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, as well as subsequent changes following the release of new adverse event data and FDA warnings.
The study, part of ACC's Research to Practice (R2P) initiative that identifies impactful cardiovascular research and analyzes its implications for contemporary clinical practice using ACC's NCDR clinical registries, examined monthly use of BVS among all PCI procedures, as well as characteristics of patients who received a BVS and of hospitals that used the device.
Results showed "modest growth" in BVS use to 703 (1.25 percent) of 56,430 PCI procedures within 90 days of FDA approval. However, BVS use decreased following the release of the ABSORB II trial, which revealed safety concerns.
There was a larger decline in BVS use after the release of ABSORB III trial, which included additional safety concerns and was accompanied by a FDA safety warning.
In terms of patient and hospital characteristics, younger patients, men and those with fewer comorbidities were more likely to receive a BVS. At the hospital level, 337 CathPCI Registry sites (20.5 percent) used BVS implants.
The device was more common at hospitals with higher annual PCI volumes and among urban, public or teaching hospitals. Among hospitals that used BVS, the device was used in a median of 1.42 percent of monthly PCI procedures.
According to Katherine Hsin-Yu Chan, MD, et al., the "slow update of BVS after a highly anticipated approval suggests that most physicians and hospitals exercised initial caution in using the device." The results "illustrate an example of an appropriate physician response to adverse data updates and FDA warnings."
Celebrating Nurses in May
ACC's advanced practice or registered nurse members play a critical role in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health.
Throughout May, the ACC is celebrating nurses and their important contributions.
Members who apply to be an Associate of the American College of Cardiology (AACC) will have the $25 application fee waved (use the code AACCNow on the payment screen of the online membership application). In addition, nonmembers of the ACC can save 40 percent on 2019 dues (use the code AACCSave).
Why AACC? Created in 2009, the AACC designation recognizes Cardiovascular Team professionals who, through advanced education, training and professional development, have dedicated themselves to providing the highest level of cardiovascular care.
Associates are also voting members of the College, a privilege otherwise reserved only for Masters and Fellows of the ACC.
ACPC Section Members Receive Research Grants
Four members of ACC's Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology (ACPC) section recently were among the six recipients of research grants from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) to advance the science of congenital heart disease (CHD) in adults.
Congratulations to Jill Steiner, MD, co-chair of ACPC's ACHD FIT Work Group; Richard A. Krasuski, MD, FACC; Carla Rodriguez-Monserrate, MD; and Nael Aldweib, MD.
Krasuski was one of three recipients of two-year grants jointly funded by ACHA and the Meil Family Foundation at $32,500 per year for his work on "Peer Coaching Adaptive Self-Management Interventions for Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease."
Steiner, Rodgriguez-Monserrate and Aldweib each received one-year grants of $10,000 funded by ACHA and Project Heart for their work on "Strategies for the Successful Adaption of the PRISM Intervention to Promote Resilience for Patients with Adult Congenital Heart Disease;" "Cognitive Impairments in Adult CHD Patients;" and "Serial C-Reactive Protein Measurements to Predict Clinical Events in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease," respectively.
"If it were not for medical research and innovation, ACHD would not exist as a field," said Jamil Aboulhosn, MD, FACC, chair of the ACHA Medical Advisory Board. "There are so many questions that are still unasked and unanswered in this field and it is imperative that we do our part to move things forward, and that can only happen through research and innovation."
Learn more about the ACPC Section on ACC.org/ACPC.
Keywords: ACC Publications, Cardiology Magazine, Absorbable Implants, American Heart Association, Cardiology, Cardiotoxicity, Cardiovascular Diseases, Comorbidity, Early Diagnosis, Comprehension, Electronic Health Records, Health Policy, Health Promotion, Heart Diseases, Insurance Carriers, Furunculosis, Leadership, Neoplasms, Minority Health, Patient Satisfaction, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Physicians, Quality Improvement, Prospective Studies, Registries, Primary Prevention, Schools, Medical, United States Food and Drug Administration
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