ACC president: Cardiology ‘family’ will persevere through COVID-19 crisis
The cardiology profession has responded strongly to previous world crises and will do the same for the COVID-19 pandemic, American College of Cardiology president Richard J. Kovacs, MD, FACC, said at the opening of the society’s virtual Scientific Session.
“Cardiology is more than a profession, we are a family and a team,” Kovacs, who is the Q. E. and Sally Russell professor of cardiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, said during his presentation. “Over the last 70-plus years of the American College of Cardiology, we have withstood wars, politics, acts of God and acts of terrorism, and we will withstand the latest challenge of COVID-19.”
Shared vision
The reason, he said, is that “we are a group of committed individuals united by a shared vision where a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes.”
In the past year, he said, key words to describe the efforts of the ACC and its membership include “patience, teamwork, professionalism, diversity, inclusion, advocacy, collaboration, innovation and global health.”
The ACC worked hard on advocating for health policy solutions “that will move the needle in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health,” he said. “We saw the largest contingent ever, more than 500 cardiovascular care professionals, go to Capitol Hill this past November advocating for improving care delivery by reducing administrative burdens, improving clinician well-being and ensuring that health policies protect patient access to appropriate cardiovascular care.”
These efforts are now turned toward addressing the fallout from COVID-19, Kovacs said.
“Those same advocates are now working hard to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not threaten clinicians and practices whose lives and livelihoods are being upended by the abrupt change in how we deliver cardiovascular care,” he said.
‘Stronger together’
Notably, the ACC community has “rallied to share our best practices and perspectives and to advocate for increased telehealth measures and clinician safety” during the fight against COVID-19, he said. “Whether it’s joint webinars with our colleagues from Wuhan, China, practice guidelines from MedAxiom and the ACC leaders, rapidly published articles and perspectives in our JACC journals and the ACC.org COVID hub, grassroots actions urging lawmakers, regulators and private insurers to provide additional flexibility around patient access, better access to personal protective equipment, more available COVID testing, we are working together to address this pandemic in unbelievable ways.”
Because CVD and infectious disease pandemics do not respect borders, collaborations and partnerships with cardiology organizations around the world are “more important than ever before,” Kovacs said. “We are stronger together. Teamwork and collaboration are the name of the game in the COVID-19 battle. It’s inspiring to see our entire profession, individual clinicians, chapters and societies alike come together to share best practices and learn from each other.” – by Scott Buzby
Reference:
Kovacs RJ. Virtual Opening Showcase. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Scientific Session; March 28-30, 2020 (virtual meeting).
Disclosure: Kovacs reports he received consultant fees and/or honoraria from Biomedical Systems and Prilenia; is on data safety monitoring boards for Eli Lilly and Pfizer; and received other compensation from Cook.