In This Issue:
 Rosman is President-elect
Chapter Conference Coming Soon
Click for Smokefree Air
Certificate of Need (CON) Standards To Be Revised
Michigan: A Leader in D2B Initiative
New Council Structure Would Provide Broader Representation
Michigan Chapter News Goes Electronic
Coding Seminar Coming in November
Physician Payment From BCBSM Settlement
D2B Alliance Announces 90 Days to 90 Minutes Mini Campaign
Cardiovascular Nursing Sympsoium - March 3
There's Still Time To Register for Chapter Conference
Oct. 5-7 at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
"If you have never attended the Michigan Chapter's annual conference, this is the year to give it a try," says Conference Chair Brad Hubbard, MD. "The scientific program is outstanding and the Traverse Bay area is a great setting for bikers, golfers, shoppers, runners, and families..there's truly something for everyone."
Michigan's premiere cardiologists will cover the Hot Heart Topics for 2007 including syncope, CHF, congenital post-operative adults, regionalization of acute STEMI care, and guidelines for revascularization. Guest speaker Robert Bonow, MD from Northwestern University will discuss opportunities and challenges in cardiovascular imaging and Dr. Charanjit Rihal from Mayo Clinic will reveal everything you need to know about drug eluting stents.
New this year will be a luncheon program featuring ACC's new CEO, Jack Lewin, MD -- an excellent opportunity to meet the College's inspiring new physician/executive.
Registration is still open! Go to www.accmi.org for the brochure and registration form and be sure to call the Grand Traverse Resort (1-800-968-7352) to make reservations for lodging.
Click for Smokefree Air
For many years health advocates have sought legislation to make Michigan's workplaces, including bars and restaurants, smokefree. At this writing, we are closer than we have ever been!
HB4163 has passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives. You can help keep the momentum going by emailing a message of support for smokefree air to your legislator.
It's fast and easy.
Just click here to go to the American Heart Association's You're the Cure website. After logging in, click on "Take Action." You'll find a template message (that you can edit if you wish) that will be sent directly to your legislator.
CON Cardiac Cath and Open Heart Standards Undergo Revisions
The Certificate of Need (CON) Commission will consider revisions to the Cardiac Catheterization and Open Heart Standards at a meeting on September 18th in Lansing.
The Commission appointed Standard Advisory Committees for both standards last fall. The committees were assigned charges that focused their reviews.
The Cardiac Catheterization Standard Advisory Committee (CCSAC), drafted amendments that include a new requirement to participate in a quality improvement data registry, revisions to physician volume reporting requirements, new procedure equivalents, revised quidelines for establishing a pediatric cath lab and many new definitions throughout.
Serving on the CCSAC were cardiologists Herb Aronow, MD, Eric Bates, MD, Simon Dixon, MB,ChB, Barry Lewis, DO, and Ron VanderLaan, MD plus representatives from purchasers, consumers, BCBSM, and several hospitals.
The Open Heart Standard Advisory Committee recommended modification to the data commitment process for starting new programs, updating the list of procedures which qualify as open heart cases, and despite much debate, retaining the facility volume requirements. They did, however, recommend increasing the individual physician volume requirements from 50 cases per year to 75.
Serving on the OHSAC were Fred Armenti, MD, Marc Sakwa, MD, Richard Prager, MD, Lawrence Patzelt, MD, Thomas Malone, MD, Stephen Smith, MD, John Heiser, MD, Aaron Kuglemass, MD plus representatives from purchasers, consumers, BCBSM, and several hospitals.
Draft language for the cath and open heart standards and the agenda for the CON Commission meeting can be found here [Scroll down to 9/18/07]
Michigan: A Leader in D2B Initiative
All of Michigan's 42 PPCI Hospitals Strive To D2B Goal: Door to Balloon Time of <90 Minutes in 75% of PPCI Patients
When the College challenged its chapters to recruit hospitals for the D2B initiative, Michigan took action. First, Chapter President, Stuart Winston, DO and the Chapter's Quality Committee placed calls to hospital CEOs and Chiefs of Cardiology to solicit their support. Then the Chapter co-sponsored a D2B symposium with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2) spearheaded by Mauro Moscucci, MD and Eva Kline-Rogers, RN. The result: 100% participation in the symposium and 100% sign on for the D2B initiative!
But the Michigan Chapter didn't stop there. To support the project leads and physician champions at the participating hospitals, the Chapter offered a series a webinars to discuss barriers and to share ideas to overcome them. Cecelia Montoye, RN, MSN, CPHQ led the popular discussions. MPRO provided the technology and CE credits.
Chapter members can learn more about the D2B experience at the Chapter's annual conference where several hospitals will detail their D2B projects on storyboards (posters).
Editors Note:
A list of participating hospitals and the D2B toolkit can be found at www.d2balliance.org.
An Article about the D2B symposicum that was published in Cardiology can be found here.
Proposed Council Structure Would Provide Broader Representation
In order to better represent the entire house of cardiology in Michigan, the Chapter bylaws are being amended to add representatives from all of cardiology's subspecialties to the Chapter Council. The Council is the governing body for the Chapter. It currently is composed of geographic representatives.
Pending a approval by a mail ballot of the current Councilors and approval by the ACC Board of Governors Steering Committee, the new bylaws will specify the following Council composition.
- The officers of the Chapter -- president, past president, president-elect, and secretary-treasurer.
- Seven district councilors located within seven geographic districts.
- Four at-large councilors -- three FACC’s and one Cardiac Care Associate (CCA).
- Seven subspecialty councilors representing cardiac electrophysiology, echocardiography/nuclear cardiology, heart failure, cardiac CT/MR, interventional cardiology, pediatric cardiology, and cardiothoracic surgery.
- Chairs of the Quality, Advocacy, and Education Committees.
- The Payer Advocate/Medicare Carrier Advisory Committee (CAC) representative.
- One representative from the Michigan Cardiology Fellows Society.
- The Cardiac Care Associate (CCA) liaison to the College.
- A representative of the American Heart Association
The council also proposed revisions to the composition of the Nominating Excutive Committees and added language to allow Chapter elections to be conducted electronically when it becomes permissable under Michigan law.
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Hank Rosman, MD has been elected president-elect of the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (MCACC). His three-year term will begin in March 2008.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve,” said Dr. Rosman. “We are working to develop rapid, effective, person-to-person communication with members throughout the state to build on MCACC’s success in education, advocacy, and quality. I also hope to work with my colleagues toward better prevention of cardiovascular disease by preventing and treating childhood and adult obesity.”
Dr. Rosman is a clinical cardiologist with Eastlake Cardiovascular Associates. He serves as Program Director of the Clinical Cardiology Fellowship at St. John Hospital in Detroit and is a Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Wayne State University.
Dr. Rosman has been an active member of MCACC since 1988. Currently serving a one-year term as president-elect, he previously served as a district representative to the Chapter’s governing council, chaired the 2002 Annual Chapter Conference, and helped found a statewide cardiology fellows-in-training council.
To communicate with members on a more timely and less costly basis, the traditional Chapter publication, Michigan Chapter News will be replaced by this e-newsletter.
Our goal is to provide a quick, easy to read e-newsletter at least six times per year. We hope it will give you a keener knowledge of the Chapter's initiatives, events, and issues.
As always, we welcome your comments, input and suggestions not only on the newsletter, but on any of the Chapter's endeavors.
Stuart Winston, DO
Chapter President
Alice Betz
Chapter Executive Secretary
Presented by McVey Associates, Inc.
Co-sponsored by Michigan Chapter ACC
Tuesday, November 27
Crowne Plaza Hotel- Airport
Grand Rapids
Wednesday, November 28
Marriott Hotel
Southfield
Click here for a brochure and registration form.
More than 950,000 active and retired physicians were mailed BCBS Settlement claim forms on July 27. By accepting the settlement, all prior and current BCBS claims on and prior to Dec. 6, 2006 will be released/eliminated as a result of this settlement. A settlement consulting company has estimated the per-physician payment will be $1,000. The ACC urges members to fully read and understand the settlement agreement before signing and returning. An analysis of physician/practice data and claims may be important prior to making a decision. In order to qualify for a settlement payment, physicians must mail the completed and signed Claim Form no later than Oct. 19, 2007.
The College partnered with the Managed Care Advisory Group (MCAG) to provide eligible members with an easy and convenient means to submit a claim for payment. Under the partnership, MCAG will work with physicians to file claims and then collect the funds directly. MCAG will then distribute the money minus a service fee of between 20 and 24 percent, depending on whether a physician is an ACC member or an ACC and AMA member. For more information contact MCAG directly at 800-355-0466 or send an e-mail to physicianservices@mcaginc.com. Be sure to reference your ACC membership when contacting MCAG. You may also complete the settlement payment process on your own by going to www.bcbsphysiciansettlement.com/documents/Claim_Form.pdf.
To refocus and reenergize D2B participating hospitals on implementing all of the recommended strategies and maximizing improvement in their D2B times, the D2B Alliance will conduct a 90 Days to 90 Minutes mini campaign from October 2 through December 31, 2007. The ACC, in conjunction with local Chapters, will support hospital efforts through additional webinars, communications, and sharing of ideas and tools.
Take Heart
9th Annual
Cardiovascular Nursing Symposium
Monday, March 3, 2008
Washtenaw Community College
Program Highlights
Non-invasive Cardiac Imaging
Diabetes in the 21st Century
Designer Drugs
Co-sponsored by:
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
Michigan Chapter ACC
Registration: $50
Cardiac Care Associates Discount Registration: $35
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