WASHINGTON – Another annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology has drawn to a close, and aside from the seemingly endless rain (and brief snow flurries), a lot of interesting discourse took place.
In the heart failure discipline, we have to a large degree become incrementalists: Although there were no blockbusters, important data on renal denervation were released, and corridor discussions about serelaxin and ivabradine were animated. At a time of ICD-10 rollouts, electronic health record (EHR) struggles, board recertification challenges, accreditation, precertification, compliance mandates, and more, it was a delight to be a cognitive cardiologist again. For a few precious moments, we could own our profession again.
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We saw no hospital administrators; we did not receive any missives about the (lack of) timeliness of closing encounters in EHRs; we engaged in real peer-to-peer interactions with real peers, unlike the shadow variant we deal with during an appeal of an insurance coverage decision.
And then it was over, ironically with the sun shining. It’s now back to work, but perhaps with renewed purpose. Let’s find ways to reestablish facts on the ground: Our patients and the decisions we make about our patients come first. Research and teaching do, too. Hospital administrators? Send them to a very long annual meeting. And hope that they forget to pack umbrellas.
Dr. Hauptman is professor of internal medicine and assistant dean of clinical-translational research at Saint Louis University and director of heart failure at Saint Louis University Hospital.