Welcome to the South Carolina Chapter ACC website. Our vision statement is "To improve the health and well being of South Carolinians through the support of cardiovascular specialists." Use the navigation buttons on the left to access our website. Please feel free to e-mail us if you have any questions or comments. Recent News: On-Line Registration Now Open Annual Meeting You can now register three different ways for the 15th Annual Joint Meeting of the SC/NC Chapters ACC: mail, fax or on-line! Click the Annual Meeting button on the left to get all the details and register. ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Vote "Yes" on Medicare Legislation Things are moving fast on Capitol Hill as Congress works to stop the 10.6 percent cut in Medicare physician payment before the June 30 deadline. Medicare legislation is expected to be voted on as early as this week in the Senate! It is critical every ACC member call their Senators NOW and urge them to vote “YES” on the Medicare bill coming to the floor this week. To take action, call the ACC’s toll-free grassroots hotline at (800) 210-7193. The legislation includes many important elements for the cardiovascular community and their patients, including an 18-month Medicare payment update of 0.5 percent for 2008 and 1.1 percent for 2009, an extension of the PQRI through 2011, and positive incentives for e-prescribing through 2013. The bill also has important imaging policy changes, including a two-year voluntary appropriateness criteria demonstration project and an accreditation requirement for advanced modalities. This bill is good policy for physicians and their patients and we’re urging ACC members to call their Senators and urge them to vote “YES” on the Medicare bill coming to the floor in the coming days. Call now at (800) 210-7193! It will take all of us acting together to convince Congress and the White House to stop the Medicare cuts before June 30. As always, it is critical that when talking to members of Congress or their staff that you provide them with feedback on how the cuts and the current regulatory environment are impacting your practices and ultimately your ability to provide patients with the quality care they deserve. Thank you in advance for taking action. For more information, contact Molly Nichelson (800) 253-4636 x 6470 You can also visit www.acc.org/can CCA Program Kick Off Highly Successful The SC Chapter ACC is excited to announce that our first targeted activity for CCAs was a great success! Dr. Anil Om, FACC, presented Bystolic: A Novel 3rd Generation Beta Blocker at Collectors Cafe in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 19th. We are especially appreciative of Dr. Om's time since he was feeling under the weather. The dinner program was attended by over 25 cardiac care associates. If you are interested in hosting a CCA event in your area, please e-mail CCA Representative Roberta Alsworth or Chapter Executive Geri Kinton. Click Here for the event flyer. from ACC.org Congress Passes Six-Month Medicare Payment Fix The American College of Cardiology appreciates Congress’ action to replace the scheduled 10 percent cut in Medicare physician payments with a .5 percent update for 2008 and continue the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). The College is disappointed, however, that Congress could only agree to a six-month fix. “We are ready to work with Congress after the New Year to craft a longer-term policy that reforms the flawed payment system and advances the quality and appropriateness of care provided,” ACC CEO Jack Lewin, M.D. said. “The cardiovascular community is committed to improving the quality of care, but the continued unstable Medicare reimbursement system hinders the ability of practices to implement many of the exciting quality improvement initiatives being proposed.” Click here here for more. Visit the ACC Advocacy Center to get involved! Governor-Elect Named Congratualtions to Charlie W. Devlin, M.D., FACC (Columbia) who was recently elected as Governor-elect for the SC Chapter. Devlin will begin his one-year term as Governor-elect at the conclusion of ACC '08 in Chicago and will automatically begin his three-year term (2009-12) as Governor the following year. Action Items from 2007 Annual Membership Meeting Attendees at the September 30, 2007 membership meeting in Asheville, NC, voted on two action items. The SC Chapter ACC bylaws were amended to included a Cardiac Care Associate representative on the council. This one-year appointment is a non-voting position. Roberta Alsworth, PA-C (Myrtle Beach), has agreed to serve in this position. A resolution on PCI & Bypass drafted by Councilor Arthur Eberly, M.D., F.A.C.C. (Greenville) was adopted. Click Here to read the resolution. ACC Fellow Designation Congratualtions to Kristen P. Nawabi, M.D. (Spartanburg) who was recently elected to fellowship in the college. Based on their outstanding credentials, achievements, and community contribution to cardiovascular medicine, physicians who are elected to fellowship and are members of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) can use F.A.C.C., Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, as a professional designation. Contact us: SC Chapter ACC 134 Collin Campbell Beaufort, SC 29906 Tel: 843-252-4709 Email: info@sccacc.org