We’ve wrapped up another successful annual meeting! NCDR.11 took place on March 31 and April 1 in New Orleans. Fred Masoudi, MD, MSPH, FACC kicked off the meeting with the keynote presentation “Clinical Registries: Preparing for Tomorrow.” ACC Immediate Past President, Ralph Brindis, MD, FACC shared a heartfelt message about the importance of NCDR participation with attendees during the opening session.

ACC Immediate Past President, Dr. Ralph Brindis, addresses the crowd Thursday morning.

Nearly 750 attendees enjoyed a wide variety of general sessions held throughout the two-day meeting that covered important science and quality issues such as the future of registry-based research, clinical financial integration of quality improvement programs, audits and data accuracy and completeness. Breakout workshop sessions provided NCDR participants with more detail about risk models and how to prepare for RAC audits, a chance to learn about a hands-on approach to customized quality improvement, and a how-to workshop on conducting and presenting research using NCDR data.

Additionally, registry-specific workshops focused on providing the latest registry updates, addressed individual registry issues, and provided the opportunity for attendees to work through educational case scenarios with NCDR experts. The closing session featured an overview of the NCDR’s quality programs, as well as presentations from some of our highest performing hospitals.		Nearly 750 attendees gathered for general sessions held throughout the meeting.
Oral abstracts and poster presentations from NCDR participants are a very important part of the annual meeting each year. We’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the 14 posters that were presented during this year’s meeting. NCDR.11 posters provide an opportunity for participants to showcase real-life successes in process innovation, quality improvement initiatives and research activities related to NCDR participation. Awards are given each year to the participants who have implemented the most outstanding quality improvement programs in their hospitals. This year’s award winners were:		Barb Christensen, senior director, NCDR (far left) and Kathleen Hewitt, associate vice president, NCDR (far right), present the 1st Place Poster Award to Margaret Thomas.

1^st Place - Primary Prevention ICD Therapy: Tools to Enhance Guideline Compliance
Mrs. Margaret Thomas, Dr. Michael Mirro, Mr. Rob Plant
Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, IN

2^nd Place - Appropriateness Criteria
Mrs. Carole Salamah, Dr. Edward Bond, Ms. Jean Fleming, Dr. Robert Stoler, Dr. Nancy Vish
Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital, Dallas, TX

3^rd Place - Improving Door to Balloon Time for the Transfer STEMI Patient
Ms. Melissa Baker
Abington Memorial Hospital, Hatboro, PA

Honorable Mention - High Re-admission Rates of Heart Failure Population
Mrs. Gabriella Underwood, Ms. Susan Dorval, Ms. Lee Sulkin, Ms. Lydia deJong
The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano
Plano, TX

The entire NCDR team is looking forward to our next annual opportunity to reconnect with participants. Be sure to mark your calendar for NCDR.12, taking place in Chicago on March 22 and 23, 2012. NCDR.11 attendees – don’t forget to complete the NCDR.11 survey. You must complete the survey by May 2, 2011, to obtain your CE credit certificate without a processing fee. The survey was emailed to you on April 1 and again on April 12. If you did not receive either email, contact us at (800) 257-4737 or ncdr@acc.org.

NCDR.11 attendees work on case studies in a registry workshop.

Important Internet Explorer 6 Announcement for NCDR Participating Hospitals
Effective June 1, 2011, the NCDR will no longer support the use of our website with Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6). Microsoft has launched an effort to eliminate the use of IE 6 worldwide in favor of a newer, more secure version of their internet browser. For information about why you and your organization should upgrade from IE 6, click here.

What does this mean to you? NCDR participants should check their current browser version by clicking “Help” then “About Internet Explorer” at the top of the internet window to verify version information and upgrade if needed. While this upgrade is free, you may need to coordinate with your facility’s IT department. The NCDR’s officially supported platform for internet browsers is Internet Explorer 7 or later and our product is not supported on Mozilla, Chrome, Safari or other available internet browsers.

Registry Review

CMS Accepts PINNACLE Registry^® 2010 PQRS and eRx Submissions
At the end of March, the PINNACLE Registry team successfully completed submission to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS, formerly PQRI) and e-Prescribing (eRx) incentive programs.

The PINNACLE Registry submitted data to CMS for 569 unique provider TIN/NPI combinations across 37 practices. Last year, the registry submitted for 172 providers across 14 practices. For 2010, the registry reported on 14 PQRS measures – up from nine measures in 2009.

An additional 243 providers also submitted for the 2010 e-Prescribing (eRx) incentive, offered this year by the PINNACLE Registry for the first time.

PQRS submission is an optional benefit offered free of charge to practices currently submitting data to the PINNACLE Registry. Enrollment for 2011 submission eligibility is ongoing. For more information about the PINNACLE Registry, visit www.pinnacleregistry.org.

Related Quality News

ACC/AHA Release Focused Update to the Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) recently released a focused update to the 2007 guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina (UA)/non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). This focused update allows clinical practice guidelines to keep pace with and respond promptly to the steady stream of new data on which previous diagnosis and care recommendations are based.

Unstable angina – which occurs when the heart doesn't get enough blood flow and oxygen – causes chest pain and discomfort and occurs when the coronary artery is partially blocked. Myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is an acute manifestation of this condition, in which a coronary artery is completely blocked and cutting off blood flow to the heart. The guidelines address the diagnosis and management of patients with UA and the related condition of NSTEMI.

For more information, visit www.CardioSource.org

Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2011: Defining and Expanding STEMI Systems of Care
May 20 – 21, 2011
Intercontinental Chicago O'Hare, Rosemont, IL

Emergency Cardiovascular Care, an upcoming American College of Cardiology Foundation educational course, will provide the most recent updates on enhancing and expanding STEMI systems of care. An expert faculty will explore the latest strategies and tools for multidisciplinary teams to improve patient care. During this two-day interactive course, attendees will participate in stimulating case-based discussions and workshops that focus on key topics including measurement and feedback of STEMI care, optimizing the utilization of 12-lead ECG, establishment of regional STEMI systems and Percutaneous Coronary Issues (PCI)Hypothermia protocols. Register today for best rates! Click here to learn more and register.

Implementing a CQI Program
Cardiovascular Business recently published an article, “CCI: How to implement quality improvement in the cath lab,” examining how continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes can help PCI programs evaluate performance and improve quality of patient care. The article details the recently published position paper from the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) on implementing a CQI program. Click here to read the full article.

Free Webcast
Strategizing for Meaningful Use: Insights from the Field on Enabling the EHR
Thursday, April 28, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

During this free webcast, leading Health IT authority Nir Menachemi, PhD, MPH, will discuss what key factors determine a hospital's success in implementing and achieving full EHR adoption, including when it makes best sense to go with a best-of-breed, best-of-suite or single-vendor strategy.

For more information, click here.

B11099

CMS Accepts PINNACLE Registry® 2010 PQRS and eRx Submissions

ACC/AHA Release Focused Update to the Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina/Non–ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Emergency Cardiovascular Care 2011: Defining and Expanding STEMI Systems of Care

Implementing a CQI Program

Free Webcast - St^rategizing for Meaningful Use: Insights from the Field on Enabling the EHR

NCDR Registry Statistics

NCDR in the News:

Hospitals bring down cardiac mortality rates: Timely angioplasties are key to success, Crain’s Detroit Business

Previous Issue of News and Views

March, 2011

February, 2011

January, 2011

Calendar:

CathPCI Registry Site Manager Call
Thursday, April 21, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

IMPACT Registry RSM/New User Call
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

ACTION Registry-GWTG Site Manager Call
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

ACTION Registry-GWTG New User Call
Thursday, May 12, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

ICD Registry Site Manager Call
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

CathPCI Registry New User Call
Thursday, June 2, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

ICD Registry New User Call
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

CARE Registry RSM/New User Call
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
1:00 p.m. Eastern

NCDR Archived Webinars:

NCDR Systems Alerts Review: ICD Registry, CathPCI Registry, IMPACT Registry, ACTION Registry-GWTG

ACTION Registry–GWTG Website Navigation

ACTION Registry-GWTG Completing the Online Data Collection Tool: Session 1 & 2

CathPCI Registry Case Study V4.3

CathPCI Registry Website Navigation

CathPCI Registry DQRI Process

ICD Registry Data Quality Review (DQR) Process V2.1

ICD Registry Data Collection Tool V2.1

ICD Registry Navigation Support

IMPACT Registry Version 1.0 Website Navigation

IMPACT Registry Version 1.0: Data Collection Form and Definitions Part I, II & II

To access recorded webinars, login here. Choose a registry home page and click on Resources.

NCDR Registries:

NCDR^® is an initiative of the American College of Cardiology Foundation^®, with partnering support from the following organizations: CARE Registry^®-The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Interventional Radiology, American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society for Vascular Medicine, and Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology; CathPCI Registry^®-The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions; ICD Registry™-Heart Rhythm Society; IMPACT Registry™-The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and American Academy of Pediatrics; PINNACLE Registry™-MedAxiom and Spirit of Women; ACTION Registry^®-GWTG™- An initiative of the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association, with partnering support from Society of Chest Pain Centers, The American College of Emergency Physicians, and The Society of Hospital Medicine.