The ACC has released a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Bleeding Risk Checklist designed to inform physicians and the cardiovascular care team about common problems and possible solutions to reduce the risk of bleeding complications after PCI procedures. The clinical care team can utilize this checklist during point of care and/or as a reference material during an educational conference relating to bleeding complications. The checklist facilitates consistent risk assessment and communication between a physician and patient undergoing a PCI procedure. The checklist is the first tool in a new PCI Bleeding Risk Toolkit available through Quality Improvement for Institutions. Stay tuned for the release of additional tools to reduce PCI bleeding risk. Download the checklist here. 

In a Leadership Page published Feb. 1 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), ACC President Kim Allan Williams Sr., MD, FACC, and ACC President-Elect Richard A. Chazal, MD, FACC, discuss the importance of provider diversity. They cite a study presented this past November and simultaneously published in JACC which showed “not only substantial salary differences between male and female practicing cardiologists, but also dramatically different job descriptions – despite sharing the same specialty.” They explain that “we need to pay special attention not only to this particular issue, but also to the broader issue of workforce diversity,” and add that “The ACC can and must be both a leader and a convener in this area.” Read more. 

Last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced an accelerated transition to alternative payment models (APMs) for Medicare recipients with a target of 30 percent of payments linked to value in 2016 and 50 percent in 2018. As part of the effort to transition America's health care system from volume to value, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN), which convenes providers, consumers, purchasers, states and federal partners to establish a common pathway for success. The ACC, as an early follower of the LAN, acquired partner status in 2015. The Health Care Transformation Task Force (HCTTF) is another group dedicated to advancing value-based payment. The HCTTF, which brings together providers, payers, purchasers and consumers, was formed in early 2015 with the goal of having 75 percent of respective businesses operating under value-based payment arrangements by 2020.Both of these groups are key players to follow in the movement to a value-based reimbursement environment. Read more about the LAN and HCTTF. The LAN's recently released APM Framework White Paper is available here.