McClellan to Deliver Bishop Lecture at ACC.08

Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration will deliver the 39th Annual Louis F. Bishop Lecture, March 31, at ACC.08 in Chicago. The tentative title for his lecture is "Will Quality Come First in Health Care System Reform?” McClellan, who is director of the Engelberg Center for Healthcare Reform at the Brookings Institution, plans to address likely developments in health care and health care reform and the impact of key policy reform issues such as quality measurement, physician payment reform and innovations in care.

Heart Songs: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Michael J. Barrett, M.D., F.A.C.C., who developed the highly successful Heart Songs program to enhance proficiency in cardiac auscultation, will report on the trial results of the program's effectiveness in "Old Dogs and New Tricks: Using an iPod® to Teach Cardiac Auscultation," poster presentation #1033-148, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 1, at ACC.08. Heart Songs was a popular, self-directed learning program at ACC.07 in New Orleans and will be available at ACC.08 in Chicago. The program is based on psychoacoustic research demonstrating that intensive repetition (400 to 600 times) is required for the human brain to master a new sound. At ACC.08, the Heart Songs Learning Lab will be open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The Lab is located in the Knowledge Exchange Center in the South Hall. Learners will have the opportunity to review five each Basic and Advanced murmurs and take a post-test to help identify learning gaps. For more information about Heart Songs, click here, or if you are a member of ACC, go also to www.cardiosource.com.

"YouTube" Concept Comes to ACC.08

Once again, ACC brings an innovative learning concept to its Annual Scientific Session! You’ve seen this powerful educational programming tool used in the political debates and on NBC’s Today Show. Now it is part of of ACC.08. ACC’s You-Que, an exciting educational innovation that relies on a YouTube-like approach, premieres at ACC.08 during Session 628: ACC/AHA Guidelines Update: Unstable Angina and Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (UA/NSTEMI) 2007, Monday, March 31. With You-Que, which is an online video streaming feature for uploading self-made video clips, meeting participants will be able to submit pre-recorded questions about the new guidelines to session faculty. You-Que videos can be made using digital cameras with a video feature, cell phones, webcams or any other amateur video recording equipment. Completed videos should be uploaded onto the Web site prior to the ACC.08 meeting. All video clips must be submitted by Feb. 29, 2008. Selected clips will be shown and answered during the live audience session. For more information, click here.

Case-based Learning Takes Center Stage at SCAI-ACCi2

At the SCAI Annual Scientific Sessions in Partnership with ACC i2 Summit, interventional cardiologists and professionals will have myriad opportunities to sharpen cath lab skills through interactive case-based learning. Live cases — this year transmitted from seven medical centers on three continents — will recreate the immediacy of the cath lab, as expert operators and seasoned moderators highlight state-of-the art interventional techniques. Attendees will be able to participate in the action by submitting questions via laptop, cell phone or PDA using an onsite wireless network.

Live cases will be transmitted from the Royal Brompton Hospital in London; Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Helios Medical Center, Germany; and four U.S. sites, says Barry Rutherford, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., live case program coordinator. Possible highlight cases include new stent technology for bifurcation lesions, antegrade and specifically retrograde techniques for chronic total occlusions with new technology from Japanese physicians and biodegradable device for closure of patent foramen ovale.

Throughout the SCAI-ACCi2 meeting, taped case reviews will offer opportunities for in-depth exploration of both the basics and the nuances of interventional cardiology. Focused sessions will delve into a wide range of interventional procedures, including those for left main disease, chronic total occlusions, valvular and structural heart disease, bifurcation lesions, and endovascular lesions. Sessions will include audience participation, interaction with expert faculty and discussion. A separate session is planned that will focus on cases in which intravascular ultrasound plays a key role. Click here for more details.

SCAI-ACCi2 Special Lecture Speakers Announced

Each day of the SCAI-ACCi2 meeting will feature a special invited lecturer. Two of these lectures have traditionally been part of the SCAI Annual Scientific Sessions, which is combined with the ACC-i2 Summit this year to create a new meeting.

• Eberhard Grube, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., from the Siegburg Heart Center, Siegburg, Germany, will give the International Lecture on Saturday, March 29.
• SCAI’s Founders’ Lecture, which honors F. Mason Sones, M.D., and Melvin Judkins, M.D., will be given by Barry Rutherford, M.D., F.A.C.C., on Sunday, March 30.
• William E. Hellenbrand, M.D., F.S.C.A.I., will give the new Pediatric Lecture on Monday, March 31.
• SCAI’s traditional Hildner Lecture will be given by Alice Jacobs, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I., on Tuesday, April 1.

James T. Dove, M.D., F.A.C.C.
ACC President

Marc E. Shelton, M.D., F.A.C.C.
ACC.08 Chair

Bradley P. Knight, M.D., F.A.C.C.
ACC.08 Co-chair

Krishna J. Rocha-Singh, M.D., F.A.C.C.
ACC.08 Co-chair

Kim Allan Williams, M.D., F.A.C.C.
ACC.08 Co-chair

Bonnie H. Weiner, M.D., F.S.C.A.I., F.A.C.C.
SCAI President

Ted Feldman, M.D., F.S.C.A.I., F.A.C.C.
SCAI-ACCi2 Co-chair

David R. Holmes Jr., M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I.
SCAI-ACCi2 Co-chair