Town Hall Meetings Spur Discussion

Leaders of the Heart Rhythm Society discussed some of the major issues currently affecting the industry in the Wednesday, May 14 Town Hall Meetings with members and practitioners. Health care delivery and lead performance were the dominant topics of discussion in the interactive sessions.

The informative Heart Rhythm 2008 Health Policy Town Hall Meetings featured leading physicians, with industry and FDA participation, engaging in a lively discussion regarding the current landscape of cardiovascular medicine, device safety, and anticipated future developments.

“Interestingly, this year we had so many different topics that Society leadership wanted to discuss, it was a challenge to choose,” said Kathy Pontzer, Vice President of Health Policy for the Society. “These two issues are very timely right now within the field of electrophysiology and for the Heart Rhythm Society.”

The Society introduced the Town Hall interactive meeting format last year with a one-issue session. This year there were two meetings (see below) back-to-back. The first topic discussed was “Future Models of Health Care in the United States: The Perfect Storm,” and the second was, “ Device Safety and Alerts.” Each one included six experts who spoke for 10 minutes each before opening the room up to discussion. “You hope, in the spirit of a Town Hall Meeting, that there is a lot of dialogue among attendees,” Pontzer said.

After an introduction from Chairs Bruce Lindsay, MD, FHRS, outgoing President of the Society, and Bruce Wilkoff, MD, FHRS, chair of the Heart Rhythm Society’s Health Policy Committee, the first meeting explored problems with the health care delivery system, changes in the future of delivery and reimbursement, implications for private practice and universities, and the role of the Society in this changing environment.

Michael Mirro, MD, began with a discussion of the challenges of access to care, cost of care and infrastructure of health care information and interactivity between offices. He discussed the difficulty of using health information systems and electronic medical records to integrate health care plans.

The presentation ended with Heart Rhythm Society’s Chief Executive Officer, James Youngblood, discussing the role the Society will play in the debate, especially in ensuring patients have ongoing access to specialty care.

The second Town Hall Meeting focused on devices, and much of the discussion centered around lead performance and replacement. The presentations covered contrasting device and lead safety and reliability, recommendations and results from a device performance task committee and presentations on both pre-market and post-market evaluations.

Also in the device meeting, William Maisel, MD, presented a summary of the Lead Performance Conference, which was initiated by the Society and took place in Boston last December.

 

Future Models of Health Care in the United States:
The Perfect Storm
          1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
       Moscone Convention Center, Room 132

Chairs:
Bruce Lindsay, MD, FHRS; Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
Bruce Wilkoff, MD, FHRS; Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

• What is Wrong with Our Health Care Delivery System?
  Michael Mirro, MD; Parkview Health System, Fort Wayne, IN
• What Changes are We Likely to See in the Delivery of Health Care and Reimbursement?
  Jack Lewin, MD; President, American College of Cardiology, Washington, DC
• What Are the Implications of Changes in the Health Care System for Clinicians in Private Practice or at Universities and Clinics?
  Jim Dove, MD; American College of Cardiology, Washington, DC
• How Will the Society Help its Members Navigate These Waters?
  James Youngblood; Health Rhythm Society, Washington, DC

Device Safety and Alerts:
Pulse Generators and Leads, Moving Ahead
          2:30 – 3:45 p.m.
             Moscone Convention Center, Room 132

Chairs:
N. A. Mark Estes, III, MD, FHRS; Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
William Maisel, MD; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

• Contrasting Device and Lead Safety and Reliability
  N. A. Mark Estes, III, MD, FHRS; Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA
• Heart Rhythm Society Device Performance Task Force: Recommendations and Results
  Dwight Reynolds, MD, FHRS; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• ICD Lead Performance Conference: Summary and Actions
  William Maisel, MD; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
• FDA Perspectives and Solutions — Premarket Evaluations
  Mark Fellman; U.S. Food and Drug Administration–CDRH, Rockville, MD
• FDA Perspectives and Solutions — Postmarket Evaluations
  Megan Moynahan, MS; U.S. Food and Drug Administration–CDRH, Rockville, MD
• Lessons Derived from Remote Monitoring of ICD Leads
  Reggie Groves; Medtronic, Mounds View, MN