Letter from the NLA President: Your NLA New Year’s Check-In & Check List

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! With the new year upon us and being more than halfway through my term as President, I wanted to thank the membership for the opportunity to provide a reminder of a few key initiatives of the NLA and make sure you complete your 2020 NLA checklist:

•    Pay dues – lipid.org/dues/payment
•    Recruit a colleague – lipid.org/membership/new-members
•    Register for a meeting – lipid.org/conferences
•    Join a committee – lipid.org/contact/question
•    Become a Lipid Specialist – lipid.org/lipidspecialist

Membership Recruitment Competition

The NLA Membership Recruitment Competition is underway through March 31, 2020. The chapter and individual who recruit the greatest number of new qualifying members will receive a $2,500 award. New members who join prior to March 31, 2020 are included in the calculation. To be eligible to win the individual award, you must recruit at least 10 qualifying members as provided below.

Qualifying Recruits for the Chapter Award of $2,500: All new member applicants, including those eligible for Associate Member status, who have not held an NLA member designation within the last 10 years.

Qualifying Recruits for Individual Award of $2,500: Dues-paying members who have not held an NLA member designation from the NLA within the last 10 years. Associate members, who receive complimentary dues, are excluded from the individual competition, but not the chapter competition.

This is an exciting time for Clinical Lipidology with the development of new therapies technologies, and educational opportunities. We want you to bring your colleagues into our organization and show them the great value and opportunity within our organization. For more information on the competition, visit lipid.org/refer.

Lipid Specialist & Pursuit of CMS Recognition

The NLA has started its pursuit of recognition of Lipid Specialist by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In our pursuit, we will persuade CMS recognize Lipid Specialist in the taxonomy of medicine and be eligible to bill for payable services using a new provider specialty code. The NLA defines Lipid Specialist as an individual certified by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology (lipidboard.org) or Accreditation Council for Clinical Lipidology (lipidspecialist. org) specializing in the identification and management of dyslipidemia and related metabolic disorders which lead to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and other morbidities, so be sure to certify. For more information, visit lipid.org/lipidspecialist.

Scientific Statements

The NLA is the international leader in lipidology and we want to stay ahead of the science while also providing value to our membership and the lipid community. Our scientific statement topics are carefully selected to help guide healthcare providers in the rapidly growing landscape of lipidology, and are written by experts in the field. In 2019, the NLA was proud to release the following statements, each available on the NLA website with additional resources at lipid.org/practicetools/documents, on the Journal of Clinical Lipidology website:

•    NLA Scientific Statement on the Use of Icosapent Ethyl in Statin-treated Patients with Elevated Triglycerides and High or Very High ASCVD Risk
•    Review of Current Evidence and Clinical Recommendations on the Effects of Low-Carbohydrate and Very-Low-Carbohydrate (including Ketogenic) Diets for the Management of Body Weight and other Cardiometabolic Risk Factors
•    Use of Lipoprotein(a) in Clinical Practice: A Biomarker Whose Time Has Come.
•    Enhancing the Value of PCSK9 Monoclonal Antibodies by Identifying Patients Most Likely to Benefit

You should anticipate the following scientific statements and manuscripts from the NLA in 2020 & beyond:

•    Genetic Testing
•    Lipid Laboratory Testing
•    Dietary Management of Disorders of Lipid and Lipoprotein Metabolism in Youth (<18 years of age) •    Clinical Utility of Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC)
•    Statements to Supplement the 2018 Cholesterol Guideline

“Each meeting provides a wonderful opportunity to learn and network in the Clinical Lipidology community.”

We look forward to seeing you at one of our conferences in 2020, whether it is the Spring Clinical Lipid Update in Denver, Colorado, the Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois or the Fall Clinical Lipid Update in Washington, DC. Each meeting provides a  wonderful opportunity to learn and network in the Clinical Lipidology community. Visit lipid.org/conferences for more information on the 2020 meeting series.

The NLA continues to develop as an organization, and we look to you as the membership to inform us how we are meeting your needs and how we can continue to serve you. Please feel free to contact me at president@lipid.org. I look forward to hearing from you.