STEMI Care in Ohio
August 1, 2009
Robert E. Hobbs, MD, FACC & Sanjay Gandhi, MD, FACC
Every year about 400,000 patients experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The current AHA/ACC guidelines recommend prompt reperfusion of the occluded coronary artery with primary PCI within 90 minutes (door to balloon time) or fibrinolytic therapy (door to needle time) within 30 minutes from first medical contact. However, in the United States, less than half the patients achieve these reperfusion times. Even worse, only about 70% of patients who are eligible for reperfusion therapy receive any reperfusion at all. While there is an extensive and efficient trauma system in the country, there is only a handful of cities or states that have any systematic organization in place for care of patients with acute STEMI despite the fact that STEMIs cause three times more deaths than trauma.
STEMI Care in Ohio Are you interested in running for an Ohio-ACC Board Position? Important Notification about Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Job Fair on October 16th Fellow-in-Training Activities Proposed CMS Payment Cuts
Mission:Lifeline is a national, community-based initiative launched by AHA and supported by Newsletter Links
ACC with the goal to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients with acute STEMI. The
ultimate outcome is to save lives by closing gaps in the systems of STEMI care. The challenges in achieving the goal involve patient education, upgrading EMS services with 12 lead EKGs, establishing a network of PCI and non-PCI hospitals, and developing a systematic data collection process for optimizing outcomes.
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In an effort to establish a system of STEMI care for the State of Ohio, the Ohio Chapter-ACC has partnered with AHA Mission: Lifeline initiative and held its first meeting in March, 2009. We are now in the process of establishing committees to address challenges of public education, prehospital care, hospital care, data collection and evaluation. While public health agencies, EMS services, city and community leaders are part of the process, we need the support and involvement of our physicians and Cardiac Care Associates to lead this effort. Sanjay Gandhi, MD, (sgandhi@metrohealth.org) an interventional cardiologist from MetroHealth Medical Center, has agreed to serve as STEMI champion for this effort. If you would like to participate in the Ohio Mission: Lifeline project, please email ohioacc@gmail.com.
Join our Facebook group. Follow the Ohio-ACC on Twitter. 19th Annual Meeting of the OhioACC Saturday, October 17, 2009 The Conference Center at NorthPointe
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Lewis Center, OH
Are you interested in running for an Ohio-ACC Board Position? Submit your recommendations! The Ohio-ACC Board of Trustees election is right around the corner. We hope that you will consider running for a position. Vacancies include: l l
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District 1 - CWRU/University Hospitals District 2 - Toledo Practicing Community District 5 - Dayton Kettering Medical Center
The deadline for receipt of recommendations is Friday, August 8. You may recommend a colleague or yourself if these requirements are met: nominees must be Fellows, Associate Fellows, Affiliates, Distinguished Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the American College of Cardiology. Please assist your Chapter by helping select its leaders. [Return to top]
Important Notification about Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to implement a new echocardiography pre-notification and pre-authorization program to be launched later this summer. Click here for the information sheet about the new plan. The ACC and ASE sent a joint letter to WellPoint, Anthem's parent company, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Samuel Nussbaum, MD, requesting a suspension for the insurer's announced echo pre-notification and results reporting program until a reasonable and viable alterative can be reached. The medical groups expressed concern about the major distruption these programs will cause to medical practices. They also conveyed that the program is misdirected to penalize all echo providers rather than the inadqueately trained and test duplicators. Click here for the full text of the letter. Please send your own letters in support of the ACC/ASE position. Address your letters to: Samuel R. Nussbaum, M.D.
Executive Vice President, Clinical Health Policy and Chief Medical Officer WellPoint, Inc. 120 Monument Circle Indianapolis, IN 46204 ACC staff also met with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The meeting focused on major concerns and iniaitives of national medical specialty societies such as the ACC. The outcome of the meeting will be the convening of several workgroups that will focus on the following: 1) Prior Authorization alternatives and standardization; 2) The role of the specialist in the Patient Centered Medical Home; and 3) Physician recognition programs. The BCBSA also noted they will assist ACC and ASNC in communications surrounding the new nuclear codes to member plans to avoid payment delays in 2010.
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