HealthCare Business News spoke with American College of Cardiology President Dr. Richard Chazal just before this year’s annual meeting. Chazal provided information on his background, the latest from the organization and his thoughts on where the organization and cardiology as a whole will be headed.

HCB News: How did you get involved in health care?
RC: In college, I saw health care as an opportunity to leverage science to do social good. I found the idea of using science to help people challenging and interesting.

HCB News: How did you get involved with the American College of Cardiology?
RC: My involvement began principally at the state level with colleagues, including the late Dr. Henry McIntosh, and with Dr. Richard Conti and Dr. Carl Pepine. Their encouragement helped lead me to becoming the president of the Florida chapter, where I first began to engage nationally. Colleagues I met during my fellowship at Indiana University, including Dr. Charles Fisch and Dr. Doug Zipes, also encouraged me to get engaged more with the ACC.

HCB News: Why should people consider joining the ACC?
RC: The ACC represents the largest cardiology member association in the U.S. and is among the largest in the world. It provides extensive opportunities for members to collaborate and look at the science and social issues needed to improve care for patients, and engage in information sharing both nationally and internationally. It also gives them access to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the premier journal in the field.

The ACC leverages its resources daily to enable our members to provide the best care possible to patients. This includes not only education resources, but also our advocacy efforts. ACC staff and members are continually reviewing the implementation of legislation such as MACRA and giving input to government on behalf of providers. United, our voice is much more likely to be heard.

HCB News: What initiatives are at the top of your list as president?
RC: My main obligation is to make certain that we try to stay strategically focused on the goals developed by the board of trustees, as included in the ACC Strategic Plan. Many of the major issues relate to health care reform. From MACRA legislation and bundled care, there’s a lot going on, so we must continually monitor and engage on behalf of members and patients. We continue to collaborate with other national institutions in the development of guidelines and use of patient registries to help improve care. This year, there’s also significant discussion about maintenance of cardiology certification.

The ACC is heavily engaged in the process, working to make certain that it provides real value. Importantly, the ACC has grown over the years and now encompasses a significant membership outside of the U.S. The College receives about half of journal submissions and attendees to our annual Scientific Session from outside of the U.S.! These are highly skilled practitioners, often providing care with limited resources, so there’s a lot we can learn from them.

HCB News: What are the biggest challenges facing your members today?
RC: Many things are changing rapidly — from health care reform, to technology, to requirements for certification. Thus, dealing with so many changes at the same time is daunting. Our members are faced with modified reimbursement processes, an evolution to team-based care and the need for development of new skills, and thus, need support. The College is endeavoring to focus on where we can bring value that will serve in patients’ best interests.

HCB News: Any concerns or relief regarding the change in government leadership?
RC: Any change is both exciting and challenging. We’re currently facing some natural uncertainty regarding policy and direction. The ACC is a party, if you will, of the patient. We will continue to explore opportunities to engage with government leaders to make things better for patients. But we also realize we’re not a political organization. Our fundamental principles are based on care for patients.

HCB News: Are there any new developments either within the ACC or within cardiology that you care to discuss?
RC: There’s a long list. We have opportunities to leverage a huge volume of new science. This includes interventional valve techniques that are less invasive than prior surgical procedures. There are very exciting new drug compounds available for heart failure. Drugs to deal with elevated cholesterol levels may help reduce the burden of heart disease by reducing heart attacks. One of the benefits of having a large international footprint is the opportunity to leverage information, studies and developments happening outside of the country.

HCB News: Can you offer any predictions on where the ACC and cardiology will be a decade from now?
RC: I think there’s likely to be ongoing evolutionary changes, with continued globalization and continued developments in technology and science. There will be an increasing focus on data and data metrics. In the next decade personalized medicine will grow. The ACC will continue to be an institution providing members with the chance to realize opportunities that allow them to do things bigger than they could have imagined toward the goal of improvement in patient care. I’m thankful for the opportunities ACC has provided to me.