Archives for November 2023

Register for ASE’s 2024 Echo Hawaii by December 14 for the Best Price

Save up to $225!

Embrace the “Aloha Spirit” at ASE’s 33rd Annual Echo Hawaii, taking place January 15-19, 2024, on the Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii. New this year, we have moved the location of the course to the Fairmont Orchid, a luxurious, family-friendly resort that sits on 32 oceanfront acres and offers various amenities such as a pool, golf course, and tennis center. Echo Hawaii features endless opportunities for adventure, wellness, and education!

This year’s program focuses on the application of advanced cardiovascular imaging technologies in the clinical setting and includes special sessions on clinical dilemmas and technology-based workshops.



Early registration ends December 14! Remember to log in to the ASE Member Portal before purchasing to also receive your member discount. 

New AMA Survey to Document Changes in Physician Practice Expense

Your input will ensure future accurate valuation!

The American Medical Association (AMA) is undertaking a new national survey, supported by 173 healthcare organizations, to collect representative data on physician practice expenses. The aim of the Physician Practice Information (PPI) Survey is to better understand the costs faced by today’s physician practices to support physician payment advocacy. The study will serve as an opportunity to communicate accurate financial information to policymakers, including members of Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The AMA has contracted with Mathematica, an independent research company with extensive experience in survey methods as well as health care delivery and finance reform, to conduct the study.

Watch for invitations to complete this survey in your email inbox (remember to check spam/junk folders):

  • Invitations and reminders about the survey will come from PPISurvey@mathematica-mpr.com with the subject line: “American Medical Association requests your input on physician practice expense and patient care hours.
  • Invitations and reminders about physician hours worked will come from PhysicianHoursSurvey@mathematica-mpr.com with the subject line: “Please help to update accurate physician payments.

The Medicare physician payment schedule, maintained by CMS and used by many other payers, relies on 2006 cost information to develop practice expense relative values, the Medicare Economic Index and resulting physician payments. As the U.S. economy and health care system have undergone substantial changes since that time, including inflation and the wide-spread adoption of electronic health records and other information technology systems, practice expense payments no longer accurately reflect the relative resources that are typically required to provide physician services.

The survey will rely on financial experts in the practice to complete an online financial information survey. The number of direct patient care hours is a critical component of the Medicare payment methodology. Therefore, thousands of individual physicians will receive a short patient care hours survey from either their practice directly or from Mathematica. The input from physician practices and individual physicians that are randomly selected to participate in this study is critical for its success. Participation will ensure that practice expenses and patient care hours are accurately reflected.

Please contact sherry.smith@ama-assn.org with any questions related to the PPI Survey or Irene Butler ibutler@asecho.org if you would like additional background information.

Mathematica formally launched the PPI Survey on July 31, 2023.

ASE Welcomes Allina Health as a New Participant in the ImageGuideEcho™ Registry

Allina Health is the latest institution to join ASE’s ImageGuideEcho™ Registry, the nation’s first echo-specific clinical data registry for quality improvement. ImageGuideEcho Registry Committee Chair Jordan Strom, MD, MSc, FASE, says, “Allina Health’s involvement in the ImageGuideEcho Registry will help ensure quality and timely care is delivered in echocardiography across its Abbott Northwestern Hospital and future locations, benchmarking performance against national standards and allowing for ease of data submission for accreditation. We look forward to working with Allina Health in helping pave an innovative path towards excellence in echocardiography care in the digital era.”

As a benefit of ASE membership, members can participate in the ImageGuideEcho Registry for FREE. For more information about your how institution can enroll, email Info@ImageGuideEcho.org or call 919-297-7174.

Celebrating Nearly 55,000 Downloads as ASE’s EchoGuide™ App Turns One 

Tomorrow, November 9, will mark one year since ASE released its mobile and web application, EchoGuide. In the past year, the FREE calculator and algorithm app has been downloaded nearly 55,000 times!

Download EchoGuide for access to more than 50 easy-to-use calculators, algorithms, and charts based on key ASE guidelines for use by healthcare professionals providing cardiac care. The app is available in the Apple and Google Play stores and on the web!



Enjoying EchoGuide? Let us know by writing a review in the Apple or Android App stores. Potential users will benefit from reading about your favorite app features and how this tool helps you in your day-to-day practice. 

Support the ASE Foundation during GivingTuesday 2023

The ASE Foundation has set its highest ever GivingTuesday fundraising goal: $35,000. Our most ambitious yet, and we need your help to reach it!

The contributions from YOU, our amazing donors, are what allow us to support the cardiovascular ultrasound community and foster the next generation, like this year’s Katanick Scholarship Award Winner, Forrest Zimmerman, who said, “The ASE [Scientific Sessions] surpassed my expectations. The gathering of a myriad of different people, all connected through the heart as it were, whether a doctor, sonographer, vendor, or one of many other disciplines, was a really humbling and wonderful experience. ASE really made me feel like part of a larger family. I attended talks on amyloid and congenital heart abnormalities, specifically CCTGA. As a student, and soon to be a new cardiac sonographer, I really was excited to see the career path possibilities that are available to me moving forward. I would like to learn more about adult congenital and cardiomyopathies and hopefully present what I’ve learned at future ASE gatherings.”

When you support the ASE Foundation, you unleash our power to continue to host educational competitions, offer scholarships to students, and disseminate ASE guideline materials to clinicians worldwide, among other charitable initiatives. Plan to join us for GivingTuesday 2023. Donations will be accepted from November 26 – December 2

A Hearty Harvest of Research: November JASE

The November issue of JASE includes, “Prognostic Signals From Moderate Valve Disease in Big Data: An Artefact of Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine Structured Reporting?Author Thomas H. Marwick, MBBS, PhD, MPH, remarks, “Studies using ‘big data’ from echocardiographic databases should take steps to ensure accuracy and validity of data. These databases often derive from the clinical interpretation of many different readers, and the summary numbers are subject to the vicissitudes of how they are exported from the reporting software. The results of this paper suggest that a process of over-reading at least a proportion of the data, to identify potential errors or inconsistencies, is important.”

This issue contains another clinical investigation on data curation and classification of aortic stenosis severity, as well as other reports covering lung ultrasound after fluid challenge to distinguish pulmonary hypertension from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and normal values to assess LV filling pressure. Additionally, this issue features a focus topic on tricuspid regurgitation and right atrial and RV pressure, with two clinical investigations and two editorial comments on the topic, as well as a brief research communication on tricuspid regurgitation’s impact on the outcomes score in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Readers can look forward to the American Society of Echocardiography COVID-19 Statement Update: Lessons Learned and Preparation for Future Pandemics as well as a state-of-the-art review on echo patterns of abnormal septal motion. Two additional brief research communications include reports on semiautomated quantification of the tricuspid annulus using 3D echo, and the association between a novel ultrasound-based carotid plaque vulnerability score and long-term cardiovascular outcomes.

Dr. Eidem’s exploration of ASE’s core values continues with this month’s President’s Message, featuring excellence and advancing knowledge, including a research update from Co-Chair of ASE’s Research Committee, Daniel Forsha, MD, MHS, FASE.

Alan S. Pearlman, MD, FASE, and Julius M. Gardin, MD, MBA, FASE, have contributed a thoughtful In Memoriam to their colleague and former ASE President Walter L. Henry, MD, FASE, who passed away in April of 2022. Please see the November ASE Education Calendar for a listing of educational opportunities far and wide.


GE HealthCare’s Strain Imaging in Echocardiography Now Available in the ASE Learning Hub

ASE is pleased to announce that the full series of 10 episodes of GE HealthCare Vivid Learning Academy’s “Strain Imaging in Echocardiography” is now available in the ASE Learning Hub. This resource is free for all active ASE members to access for the next two years. The series features pioneers in the field of strain imaging sharing their experience as well as tips and tricks. Each episode is divided into two sections: a presentation of the topic and then discussions between renowned key opinion leaders, all conveniently accessible through user-friendly video chapters. Episodes range from basics and applications to using strain in disease diagnosis. Learn more and add this series to your Learning Hub activities today!

This is an informational presentation brought to you by GE Healthcare. No credits are available.

Call for ASE Committee Volunteers: Apply Today!

One benefit of your ASE membership is the available opportunities to get involved with the Society and play an active role in shaping the field of cardiovascular ultrasound. Now is the time to apply to become an ASE Committee volunteer! Whether you are a new volunteer interested in serving or you would like to continue serving, log in to your ASE member portal, click on “Membership” on the top menu bar and select “Volunteering” to access the “Committee Interest Application.” The application will remain open through January 5, 2024.



ASE volunteer groups, like Committees, are comprised of current member volunteers who help set standards, develop products, create courses, direct subspecialty activities, advocate for echocardiography, and more! Additionally, your participation offers the opportunity for personal development and connections with others in your field. The term of service for new appointments will be July 2024 – June 2026. Questions? Contact Committees@ASEcho.org

Make Your Pledge for GivingTuesday 2023

GivingTuesday, the Global Day of Giving, is November 28, and this year the ASE Foundation has set its highest ever GivingTuesday fundraising goal: $35,000! Our generous donors have always helped us make great strides towards our goal. This year will surely be the same. Let’s make this the most successful GivingTuesday yet to make sure that ASEF can offer scholarships, global outreach, and research grants in 2024!

If you are planning to donate on GivingTuesday, you can make your pledge now. Your early support will encourage others to join you. Any contribution, big or small, brings us one step closer to our goal. Donations will be accepted on our website November 26 through December 2.



Contact the Foundation at Foundation@ASEcho.org to make your pledge. Want to see what your donations can accomplish? See details from the recent outreach in Vietnam—saving lives through your gifts!

Congratulations to the Winners of ASE’s Echo Image Calendar Competition

Thank you to everyone who uploaded echo images and voted on Connect@ASE during the Image Calendar Competition. Please join us in congratulating the following members whose images have been selected for the 2024 ASE Echo Image Calendar:

  • Bonita Anderson DMU(Cardiac), MAppSc(MedUS), AMS, ACS, FASA, FASE
  • Clara Angulo, MBA, ACS, FASE
  • Cara Bergeron, BS, RDCS, RVT, FASE
  • Scott Coleman, DO, FASE
  • Kelsie Drain, RCS
  • Amanda Finamore, RDCS
  • Karla Kurrelmeyer, MD, FASE
  • John McNeil, MD, FASE
  • Roosha Parikh, MD, FACC, FASE, FSCCT, FSCMR, FASNC, RPVI
  • Alicia Rangosch, ACS, RCCS, RDCS, RVT
  • Madeline Schiminger, MPH, RDCS (AE,PE), FASE

To receive your copy of the 2024 Image Calendar, renew your ASE membership by December 31, 2023.