Attending the Vascular Annual Meeting as a scholarship recipient helped turn on a lightbulb in Katharine Wolf’s mind.

"I got to see how basic science research and clinical surgical practice really intersect," said Wolf, who attends medical school in Illinois and is currently performing a research internship in Dr. Alan Dardik’s lab at Yale University.

In June 2017, the SVS Board of Directors approved bylaw changes that were ratified at the Annual Business Meeting, paving the way to review and approve membership applications throughout the year. These changes were made to improve access, efficiency and service to existing and future SVS members. Beginning in 2018, SVS will now review and approve applications on a quarterly basis – in March, June, September and December.

Please Complete Benchmarking Surveys

Curious how vascular services are benchmarked and valued? Wouldn’t you want to have this information to share with your administrators and colleagues?

The SVS and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) remind SVS members to participate in two important surveys. MGMA is reintroducing vascular surgery as a benchmarked specialty, and these surveys will provide data on the process of negotiating contracts and the balance between practice costs and revenue.

Despite affecting 25 million Americans, including two to six million with ulcer conditions, chronic venous insufficiency is relatively understudied compared to other vascular diseases. Yet for patients with venous leg ulcers, their condition is debilitating, painful and embarrassing.

Don’t get too comfortable with today’s knowledge on the Quality Payment Program. Some changes are being proposed for 2018, mostly related to increased reporting requirements to avoid the 5 percent Medicare payment penalty in 2020.

CMS released its proposed rule for Year 2 of the QPP in late June. The final rule will be released this fall and changes will be effective Jan. 1, 2018.

News From SVS | First Data Collection Year Coming to an End

SVS members have a narrow window remaining to participate in the Quality Payment Program (QPP) this year and avoid a 4 percent Medicare reimbursement penalty in 2019. The final 90-day reporting period began Oct. 2.

As Executive Director of SVS, one of my priorities, and great joys, is to find opportunities to meet and talk with SVS members locally in their own communities and practices. I hear a lot of ideas expressed at meetings of course, but seeing things first-hand, and talking to partners and team members about their local issues and practice environments and their needs, helps me to understand how SVS can best help. 

CMS Change a Big Victory for Vascular Surgeons, Patients SVS Led Grassroots Effort on Ultrasound Procedures Following a grassroots effort by SVS and in a move that will protect reimbursements for vascular surgeons, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a correction notice to its 2018 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) Final Rule.

PREDICTORS OF LATE AORTIC INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS WITH MEDICALLY TREATED TYPE B AORTIC DISSECTION, Journal of Vascular Surgery, January 2018.

CHICAGO, Illinois, January 2018 – A new study suggests thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) may be appropriate in uncomplicated Type B aortic dissection (TBAD) based on several anatomic criteria determined by computerized tomography (CT) imaging.

“CLINICAL CORRELATION OF SUCCESS AND ACUTE THROMBOTIC COMPLICATIONS OF LOWER EXTREMITY ENDOVENOUS THERMAL ABLATION.”

Journal of Vascular Surgery Venous and Lymphatic Disorders, January 2018

CHICAGO, Illinois, January 2018 – A large single center experience with endovenous thermal ablation reveals risk factors for thrombotic complications.