The Impact Of Healthcare Reform

How heart failure practitioners will be impacted by the Affordable Care Act

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Sep 23, 2013, 09:00 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) 17^th Annual Scientific Meeting will open with a plenary session entitled "The Impact of Healthcare Reform." The session will feature presentations from Dr. Michael Chernew, M.D., Dr. Vivian Ho, Ph.D., and Ms. Ellen Zane.

The session will focus on identifying key features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and describing how the new law will impact clinicians and hospitals, especially in the area of heart failure. The session will also feature a discussion about high value healthcare.

Dr. Ho 's portion of the presentation will focus on the Medicare payment reforms that will affect physicians and hospitals as part of the ACA, including incentive payments for accountable care organizations, bundled payments, and pay for performance. Dr. Ho explains that "these reforms could potentially lead to increased consolidation of physician groups and the emergence of more physician-hospital organizations, along with the increased demand for physician care under the ACA."

Ms. Zane will discuss healthcare reform and the ACA from the perspective of the hospital CEO. Her presentation will focus on ways that the CEO can adapt to the changes and challenges that are part of healthcare reform. She explains that "hospital leaders can no longer do things the way they have always done them, and we need to adapt our processes and cultures with an eye on the future."

Finally, Dr. Michael Chernew's presentation will focus on new ways to reduce healthcare spending in a safe way.

The 17^th Annual Scientific Meeting is a four-day forum for heart failure specialists to present research findings and advances in treatment. Presentations will address emerging trends in research and new developments in the approach to treating patients with all stages of heart failure.

For a complete list of annual meeting sessions or for details on attending the conference, call (617) 226-7193 or visit www.hfsa.org and click on Annual Scientific Meeting. There is also an app for the Annual Meeting available in the Apple Store by searching HFSA. There is no registration fee for accredited journalists. Interview areas will be available on-site in addition to a press room. You may follow news from the meeting on Twitter @HFSA and #HFSA.

About Heart Failure
Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened after it is injured, most commonly from heart attack or high blood pressure, and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body's needs. Many people are not aware they have heart failure because the symptoms are often mistaken for signs of getting older. Heart failure affects 4.6 to 4.8 million individuals in the United States. Demographic and clinical evidence strongly suggests that the prevalence of heart failure will increase throughout the next decade. Ten to 15 years ago heart failure was considered a "death sentence;" however, recent advances in treatment have shown that early diagnosis and proper care in early stages of the condition are key to slowing, stopping or in some cases reversing progression, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy. For more information on heart failure, please visit www.abouthf.org.

About the Heart Failure Society of America
The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) is a nonprofit educational organization, founded in 1994 as the first organized association of heart failure experts. The HFSA provides a forum for all those interested in heart function, heart failure research and patient care. The Society also serves as a resource for governmental agencies (FDA, NIH, NHLBI, CMS). The HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to highlight recent advances in the development of strategies to address the complex epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic issues of heart failure. Additional information on HFSA can be found at www.hfsa.org.

SOURCE Heart Failure Society of America