Archives for January 2019

The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) are pleased to announce that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have approved the ImageGuide Registry® as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) for 2019. The designation as a QCDR allows the ImageGuide Registry to submit provider data to meet reporting requirements under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for the 2019 reporting year. The ImageGuide Registry has been recognized annually as a QCDR since 2015. Read more here.

Medical experts have released “Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Transthoracic Echocardiographic Examination in Adults: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography.” ASE first established recommendations for the comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) exam in 1980, and TTE has continued to be a centerpiece of ASE’s educational resources over the years. With the evolution of both technology and performance, this new guideline addresses these changes and aims to provide new guidance to enhance imaging quality and empower echocardiographers to provide the best possible care for their patients. Filled with original illustrations, instructive videos, and detailed instructions to provide an effective resource for all echocardiographers, this document gives a comprehensive view of scanning techniques and protocols for today’s cardiovascular imaging. Read more here.

The ASE Foundation (ASEF) is very proud to announce that it has partnered with WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, to provide women with important information to help them better navigate the often complicated process of living with heart disease. ASEF has become a sponsor of WomenHeart’s Red Bag of Courage® educational program that delivers heart health materials directly into the hands of women who need it most. Read more here.

The January issue of JASE, now online, includes, “Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Transthoracic Echocardiographic Examination in Adults: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography.” Co-chairs Carol Mitchell, PhD, ACS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RT(R), FASE, and Peter S. Rahko, MD, FASE, shared a little about the TTE guideline content. “As the writing committee surveyed the many excellent educational resources available, we found a void in information available to students and new sonographers. There is a lack of material defining how to best perform the TTE exam. Thus, part of the focus of the new guideline is to provide information focusing on exam performance and how to acquire the echocardiography views.” The guideline is a CME article, and a live webinar related to it is scheduled for January 31 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time (see more about this below).

Also in this JASE are clinical investigations on echocardiography in coronary artery disease, echocardiography in aortic valve disease, contrast-enhanced vascular ultrasound for atherosclerotic plaque assessment, echocardiography in children, fetal echocardiography, and several editorial comments as well as letters to the editor. The Society blue pages feature ASE Dr. Jonathan Lindner’s President’s Message, “Yearn to Learn,” highlighting that ASE is highly regarded as an educational resource for all healthcare providers who use cardiovascular ultrasound, but ASE never rests on its laurels, and is constantly striving to advance and adapt its educational offerings. The sonographer communication by Liza Y. Sanchez, RCS, FASE, explores echocardiographic cardiac evaluations of primates in the Great Ape Heart Project.

While we wait for the final count, the ASE Foundation is happy to announce that we exceeded our $250,000 2018 Annual Appeal donation goal! We sincerely thank all of our incredibly generous donors who supported the ASE Foundation throughout this past year! The list of donors will be published in the Winter edition of the ASEF newsletter. You can feel confident that your gifts will have a direct impact on the future of cardiovascular ultrasound because 100% of all donations will be used to support the Foundation’s 2019 initiatives. We are looking forward to a wonderful 2019 and have all of you to thank for setting it up for a successful giving year!

Join Peter Rahko, MD, FASE, on Thursday, January 31 at 6:00 PM Eastern Time for an interactive live webinar as he presents part two of this webinar series “Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Transthoracic Echocardiographic Examination in Adults: Recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography.” Dr. Rahko will discuss the difference between the comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography protocol and limited transthoracic echocardiography protocols, writing protocols, developing quality assurance programs as well as implementing these recommendations into daily practices. He will also provide information for how to acquire the standard set of echocardiography views and measurements to maximize diagnostic accuracy which will serve as a resource for protocol development for echocardiography laboratories.

Click here to find out when the webinar is taking place in your timezone. Those taking part in the live webinar can receive CME! Interested in this topic, but the scheduled time is not convenient for you?  Register for the live webinar, and an email will be sent to you once the recorded webinar (non-CME) is available in your content on ASEUniversity. You can then view it at your convenience.

Submit your abstract of original science or clinical case report to be considered for presentation at the premier cardiovascular ultrasound conference of the year, the 30th Annual ASE Scientific Sessions in Portland, Oregon, June 21-25, 2019. Begin your submission online today! Presenters benefit from dedicated viewing times, a global audience that promotes future collaborative work, eligibility for travel support, and discounted conference registration rates. Visit the ASE 2019 Call for Abstracts for more information. Submission closes Wednesday, February 6, 2019.