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Dear Member of the Alabama Chapter of the American College of Cardiology:
It has been a few months since I have communicated with you, and a lot has happened in the interim:
Advocacy: You were enthusiastically represented by Paul Moore (our Advocacy Committee Chair), Paul Tabereaux (our Fellow-in-Training member of the council) who received a grant from ACC to attend, Dee Mooty (our executive director) and myself as we attended the ACC Legislative Conference and visited the Alabama legislative offices. We met personally with Senator Jeff Sessions, Representative Artur Davis, and Representative Mike Rogers, and with legislative staff of Senator Shelby, and Representatives Aderholt, Bachus, and Everett. We carried the torch of the ACC as an organization that has focused on quality and evidence-based medicine, guidelines, and appropriateness criteria as Congress seems to be following in the footsteps of insurers to limit physician payment, particularly with regard to imaging. The leadership of ACC hopes to have a seat at the table as an anticipated major reform of our health care system takes place over the next couple of years. We asked for relief from the anticipated 10% cut in physician payment in 2008, from the impact of the Deficit Reduction Act which slams imaging, and from a new House of Representatives concept of a tiered Sustainable Growth Rate Formula to replace the currently flawed formula with something even worse; help with Quality Reporting; tax relief from the cost of Health Information technology, etc... Please go to the www.acc.org website to keep abreast of what you can do either by giving to the PAC, attending the legislative conference next year, supporting your local political candidates, or by joining the ACC CAN (Cardio-Advocacy Network). We will be part of the MASA delegation to Congress January 26-29, 2008 in our nation's capital.
D2B Initiative: Eric Crum and Bill Hillegass continue to spearhead this initiative where we've partnered with many other organizations to focus on a reduction in the Door-to-Balloon times at 22 hospitals where acute interventional procedures are performed in the state of Alabama. A big push is on to focus on maximizing our performance on these measures in the last quarter of 2007. We have certainly made huge strides at my hospital. Go to www.d2balliance.org to see if your hospital is participating, and for those of you who are working on this process at your own hospital, see the insert below to see how you can claim up to 20 hours of ABIM certification CME credit for your work on this.
Education: We had an outstanding chapter meeting/scientific session in Sandestin in June with several world-renowned speakers from Alabama and beyond with a great family atmosphere. Thanks to chair, Stephen Bakir; his co-chair, Steven Lloyd; Case Presentation guru, Ami Iskandrian; our Executive Director, Dee Mooty; and our Director of Exhibits, Pat Phillips for their outstanding job. Our committee has met to select an even more exciting agenda including our last two ACC Gifted Teacher Award recipients, and will be chaired June 6-8, 2008 again at the Sandestin Resort by Steven Lloyd, and co-chair and Industry Chair, Stephen Bakir, with help from committee members Ami Iskandrian, Osita Onyekwere, Dee, Pat, and myself.
Cardiac Care Associates (CCA's): Your nurses, nurse practicioners, physician's assistants, and Pharm D's are eligible for a discounted membership in ACC, and if members, for free membership in the state chapter with lots of perks. Jeff Herald, NP, Dee Mooty, and Pat Phillips are busy at work on our second annual CCA educational and networking meeting scheduled for January 19, 2008. I attended last year, and learned a lot, and the attendees felt that it may have been the best educational experience targeted to their level that many of them had attended. Keep your eyes open for more on this meeting, on our website www.alacc.org.
Public Health: Paul Tabereaux, MD, FIT has been published in all the major newspapers in the state promoting local ordinances to ban public smoking. Maybe someday Alabama will join the nineteen states with statewide legislation. Dee Mooty has been heightening public awareness and intervention on childhood obesity.
Chapter Elections: Your nominating committee chaired by Paul Moore, with members Gary Rich, Al Stanley, and myself have selected Eric Crum (Montgomery) and Phillip Laney (Huntsville), two of our stalwart council members over the past ten years as candidates for chapter Governor-Elect. You will receive an on-line ballot from ACC with the opportunity to vote beginning around October 30th. We are also contacting nominees from the different Congressional districts to run for Secretary-Treasurer and council positions that will be open for next year. You should receive a paper ballot in December. Serving on the council, chapter and national committees, and the Board of Governors has been an exciting and rewarding experience for me, and I am grateful to all of you for the opportunity to do so.
National ACC: I have just returned from our fall meeting of the Board of Governors. We have a tremendous support staff in DC with staff dedicated to helping you with challenges such as the NCDR (National Cardiovascular Data Registry), state and national advocacy, payer advocacy, science and education, professional fulfillment of your CCA's, practice management, keeping you abreast of the latest developments in cardiology and in the lay press. Explore your needs at www.acc.org or contact Dee Mooty or myself to target your needs. See items below copied off the latest BOG newsletter pertaining to areas of interest. Unless you are planning to take action against BCBS yourself and you participated in this plan, do not hesitate to claim your settlement moneys which have already been paid by BCBS to a settlement fund. You should receive approximately $1000.00. If you have interest in serving on an ACC committee, please contact me to send in a nominating letter for you, as participation in the state chapter has become a more important selection criterion for the college.
Please contact Dee Mooty (334-954-2574) or me if we can be of any assistance to you.
With wishes for a great season,
Roll tide roll!!! and War Eaaargh (I tried)!!!
Mike Honan, MD, FACC
Governor, Alabama Chapter, ACC