The American College of Cardiology this morning kicked off its annual Legislative Conference, an event that will culminate with nearly 400 cardiovascular professionals heading to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to promote quality care for heart patients across the nation.

Conference attendees will sit down with members of Congress and their staff on Tuesday to discuss the need to transition from the current volume-based Medicare physician payment system and move toward a value-driven system that better aligns payment with performance of evidence-based medicine and high quality, appropriate health care.

“Everyone knows that the Sustainable Growth Rate formula is flawed and unworkable,” said ACC President Dr. John G. Harold who will be leading discussions during the event. “It’s time for Congress to fix it so we and lawmakers can focus on the many important issues facing patients, physicians and our health care system.”

The ACC’s Legislative Conference comes on the heels of a new Congressional Budget Report released last week giving the SGR a $175.5 billion price tag over a 10-year period. By repealing and replacing the SGR Congress will preserve Medicare by ensuring its beneficiaries have continued access to timely quality health care.

ACC members will also recommend increased support for initiatives that develop and measure guidelines and Appropriate Use Criteria, support for clinical data registries and preservation of the In-Office Ancillary Services Exemption.

“We need support from Congress for the creation and operation of clinical data registries which provide timely feedback of performance and ensure continuous quality improvement,” said ACC Advocacy Steering Committee Chairman M. Eugene Sherman, MD, FACC who will head to the hill on Tuesday. “Clinical data registries help physician practices identify and close gaps in quality care, reduce wasteful care and implement continuous quality improvement processes.”

Removing the administrative burdens that take valuable time away from members of the cardiac care team and their patients will lead to a more effective patient-centered method of providing care. The ACC looks forward to a payment system rewarding value over volume.