The new Aortic Regurgitation, Aortic Valve Stenosis, Mitral Regurgitation, and Tricuspid and Pulmonic Regurgitation Posters can all be yours for the low price of $60 for all four posters. Based on the latest guidelines, Recommendations for Noninvasive Evaluation of Native Valvular Regurgitation: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography Developed in Collaboration with the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and the Recommendations on the Echocardiographic Assessment of Aortic Valve Stenosis: A Focused Update from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging and the American Society of Echocardiography, you can purchase the posters today at ASEMarketPlace.com.

There is still time to upload your images for the 2018 Image Calendar Contest. The image competition winners will be featured in a colorful, 12-month calendar that will be given to all members who renew by December 31, 2017. The deadline for image submission is Monday, August 14 to allow voting to begin on August 16. Voting closes Friday, September 15.

To upload your images, head to the ASE 2018 Calendar Contest Library on Connect@ASE:

1. Login to Connect@ASE using your username (email address) and password.
2. Using the top navigation, scroll to Libraries.
3. Click on Image Library.
4. Click on the folder called ASE 2018 Calendar Contest.
5. Click “New” under Folder Contents on the right hand side of the menu and upload your image. Image files need to be no larger than 30 MB.
6. You are able to upload as many images as you would like.

Please note this is a membership competition and is open to members only. If you have any questions, please contact Arissa Cooper at acooper@asecho.org.

“Four cusps is NOT better than three.”  Find out what Dr. Brian Malm, Yale University School of Medicine, means by reading his case report, “Severe Aortic Insufficiency in a Patient with a Functionally Bicuspid Quadricuspid Aortic Valve,” which is published in the new issue of CASE. His aortic anomaly case is joined by nine other stellar articles that cover topics including idiopathic left ventricular aneurysm, infection versus CAT, cardiac papillary fibroelastoma, myocardial infarction by angiosarcoma, mechanical Wenckebach, ECMO, and a pulsatile puzzle. Sign up for CASE content alerts at cvcasejournal.com, and join the discussion about CASE content at Connect@ASE. Don’t forget to test your wits with the new “What is This Image?” feature on the CASE homepage. This issue’s “What is This Image? was contributed by Amr Abouelnour, MD, assistant lecturer of cardiovascular medicine at Assiut University, Egypt.

ASE is excited to announce that the Image Calendar Competition is back for 2018! The image competition winners will be featured in a colorful, 12-month calendar that will be given to all members who renew by December 31, 2017. The deadline for image submission is Monday, August 14 to allow voting to begin on August 16. Voting closes Friday, September 15.

To upload your images, head to the ASE 2018 Calendar Contest Library on Connect@ASE:

1. Login to Connect@ASE using your username (email address) and password.
2. Using the top navigation, scroll to Libraries.
3. Click on Image Library.
4. Click on the folder called ASE 2018 Calendar Contest.
5. Click “new” under Folder Contents on the right hand side of the menu and upload your image. Image files need to be no larger than 30 MB.
6. You are able to upload as many images as you would like.

If you have any questions, please contact Arissa Cooper at acooper@asecho.org.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would make changes in the second year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP) as required by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). CMS has proposed a number of changes to the program, many of which are aimed at easing the reporting burden on small practices. A few highlights from the proposed rule include:

• CMS will again assign a weight of zero to the MIPS Cost Category. Other categories will be weighted as follows: Quality = 60, Improvement Activities = 15, Advancing Care Information = 25
• CMS has proposed to modestly raise the performance threshold to 15. The performance threshold for the 2019 payment year is three. This means a final score at or above 15 will allow an eligible clinician to avoid a negative adjustment in 2020.
• CMS is not proposing modifications to the submission criteria for quality measures.
• CMS will continue to allow eligible clinicians to use electronic health record technology certified to the 2014 edition for the 2018 performance year to receive credit under the Advancing Care Information Category.
• CMS is proposing additional flexibilities for clinicians in small practices, including adding bonus points to their final MIPS score.
• CMS is proposing requirements for MIPS participation at the virtual group level.
• CMS will add performance standards for scoring improvement in the Quality and Cost categories.
• CMS will begin determining whether eligible clinicians are APM Qualified Participants using an All-Payer Combination Option that looks at a clinicians participation in a Medicare Advanced APM, as well as an Other Payer Advanced APM.

ASE is continuing to analyze this rule and a more detailed and targeted analysis will follow.

Here is a fact sheet on the proposed rule. The proposed rule (CMS-5522-P) can be downloaded from the Federal Register.

ASE is pleased to announce two new Best of ASE DVDs making the entire collection 10 strong. These DVDs were developed to enhance your understanding of echocardiography with a compilation of lectures from ASE courses.

• Volume 1: 2nd Edition – Introduction to Diastology
• Volume 10: Vascular Ultrasound

Login to your member portal and click on ASE MarketPlace to receive member pricing of only $75 per DVD or all 10 for $525.