Archives for December 2020

ASE Headquarters will be closed Thursday, December 31 and Friday, January 1. Normal business hours will resume on Monday, January 4.

Make sure you check out the ASE Foundation’s final fundraiser of the year, the Holiday Karaoke Competition. Enjoy the videos and vote for your favorite. It’s just $5 per vote! All funds raised will go towards our 2020 annual appeal and as of December 26, we have raised $226,265 . That’s 91% of our $250,000 goal. We are blown away by the support you have given the Foundation during such an unusual year. Together we will continue to make a world of difference!

Do you want to improve your chances of having a paper published in the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE), ASE’s premier echo publication? Join JASE Editor-in-Chief, Michael Picard, MD, FASE, along with members of the JASE Editorial Team, Benjamin Eidem, MD, FASE, and Victor Mor-Avi, MD, FASE, for a FREE live, interactive webinar, “JASE Submission Overview,” on January 26 at 1:00 PM ET. The focus of this webinar will be on the JASE submission process and how to overcome pitfalls when submitting. Registration will open in early January 2021.

This is the first in a series of webinars that will highlight an ASE member benefit and offer attendees the opportunity to meet and interact with key ASE leaders.

The webinar will also be posted afterward for on-demand viewing on the ASE Learning Hub.

The ASE Foundation is proud to offer three research grants in 2021. Applications for the inaugural Pamela S. Douglas, MD, FASE Research Scholar Award are currently being accepted. This award will support the future of echocardiographic research by granting a one-year (12 months) $75,000 USD scholarship to support clinical or translational research scholars in advanced cardiovascular ultrasound research. Applications are due February 1, 2021 by 5 PM Eastern Time. Full application details can be found here.

The Foundation is also proud to offer two grants of up to $45,000 USD each for meritorious echocardiographic research proposals relevant to innovation in cardiovascular ultrasound. Of particular interest are proposals that expand the key role of echocardiography, or the development of novel technology, in clinical diagnosis or management. Application for 2021 funding opens February 1, 2021.Stay tuned for more information in early 2021!

ASE Headquarters will be closed Wednesday, December 23 – Friday December 25. Normal business hours will resume on Monday, December 28.

The latest issue of CASE, ASE’s online case reports journal, is available, and includes “Complicated Double-Orifice Mitral Regurgitation: Combined Hemodynamic Assessment Using Echocardiography and Four-Dimensional Flow Magnetic Resonance Imaging,” by Jeesoo Lee, PhD, Nadia El Hangouche, MD, Aakash N. Gupta, BS, Michael Markl, PhD, Susan Kim, MD, Jane Wilcox, MD, MSc, and James D. Thomas, MD, FASE. “This case may help add guidance to the real-world dilemma we all encounter when cases just don’t simply follow the guidelines. Staying on top of the latest literature is essential,” suggests co-Editor-in-Chief Karen Zimmerman. Dr. Thomas states, “Myxomatous mitral valve disease can produce complex regurgitant jets that are challenging to quantify.  We present a puzzling case with mitral annular disjunction, moderate late systolic MR arising medially and laterally along the closure line in the 2-chamber view, history of syncope, VT on the treadmill, and sudden cardiac death in both parents. We combined proximal convergence analysis with 4D flow MRI to provide better guidance on severity and management showing the value of multimodality imaging. And, yes, there’s a Pickelhaube sign!”

“Symptomatic Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction Caused by Mitral Annular Calcification,” from Pristera et al. rounds out this section on the not-so-simple mitral valve. Additionally, we have case reports on LVOTO caused by MAC, a phantom systole, COVID-19 and RV dysfunction, using bubbles to trace flow to find a diagnosis, apical thrombus formation with CRT, questionable endocarditis, aortic valve disease in both the young and the old, complicated congenital heart disease cases, an air gun projectile in a dog, and interventions for pulmonary artery and valve stenosis with anomalous connections in canines.

Test your echo acumen with the new What is this Image? quiz. Congratulations to Bonita Anderson, MAppSc(MedUlt), DMU(Cardiac), ACS, FASE, FASA, Matthew Lambert, CCP, PGDip MTEX, GradDipCardiacUlt, Natalie Edwards, BExSci, MCardiacUlt, ACS, FASE, FASA, and Gregory Scalia, MBBS(Hons), MMedSc, FRACP, FACC, FCSANZ, FASE, from The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia for supplying the quiz text and image. Don’t forget to check out the CASE articles in press.

CASE is a valuable tool for all clinicians, educators, mentors, and sonographers. CASE co-Editors-in-Chief, Karen G. Zimmerman, BS, ACS, RDCS, RVT, FASE, and L. Leonardo Rodriguez, MD, FASE, FACC, are continually grateful to the all the authors and reviewers who have dedicated their time and effort to CASE’s mission of publishing high-quality educational experiences where cardiovascular imaging has been used to solve clinical dilemmas. We will enter 2021 with exciting new cases, continual optimism, and open arms to receive your opinions and questions. Email managing editor, Deborah Meyer, at DMeyer@ASEcho.org.

ASE is excited to announce that the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) has renewed its application for the free activity, “Pediatric Appropriate Use Criteria for Transthoracic Echocardiography: Performance Improvement Module” through April 30, 2022.

Physicians who participate in this project, and meet ABP completion requirements, will receive credit for the Performance in Practice (Part 4) component of Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

The ABP has announced their support for ASE’s important work, and we are pleased to continue collaborating with ABP to help physicians meet requirements for MOC by improving care for children.

The ASE Foundation accepts donations in a variety of ways. You do not have to give cash – you can gift appreciated stock. Gifts of appreciated securities (long-term) can mean tax savings, while at the same time maximizing your charitable deduction. Speak with your tax professional to see if this type of donation is suitable for you.

Another not-so-obvious donation method is to donate honorarium from ASE or non-ASE projects. If you’re interested in doing so just let us know. We can provide any information needed to assist with the transfer of funds. Learn about additional ways to give here .

Remember the deadline! The last day to contribute to the ASE Foundation’s 2020 annual appeal is December 31. As of December 12, we have raised $213,404 – that’s 85% of our $250,000 goal. All donations to the appeal will be paid out to charitable works in 2021. Thank you for your support – you are what makes us successful!

The final 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was released on December 1, 2020. Our experts prepared a topline summary of the most important proposed changes to the payment rates and policies for services paid under Medicare, along with the significant policy and payment changes impacting echocardiographers.

Unfortunately, CMS failed to listen to our submitted concerns with the proposed rule and is finalizing a significant shift in physician and nonphysician payments expected to take effect on January 1, 2021 due to a decrease in the conversion factor.

CMS also released the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) final rules on December 2, 2020.  This final rule includes policy and payment changes which will be implemented January 1, 2021. You can learn more here.

Are you interested in volunteering for ASE? The Society depends on its members to get involved and advance our mission. Our volunteers help set standards, develop products, create courses, direct subspecialty activities, advocate for echo on the federal and state levels, and so much more. If you are a new volunteer interested in serving on an ASE committee or a member currently serving on a committee and would like to continue to serve, learn more here and complete the Committee Interest Application & Conflict of Interest/Disclosure Agreement.

The application process will remain open through January 4, 2021. The term of service for new appointments will be July 2021 – June 2022.