From the NLA President: Dedicated Professionals Moving Forward

Lead by the efforts of Carl Orringer, MD, FNLA, the NLA finalized the updated NLA Self-Assessment Program (NLA- SAP). The new program improves on the already existing NLA product that will continue to enhance your clinical knowledge of the core curriculum in clinical lipidology as well as challenge your problem-solving skills in the diagnosis and management of patients with dyslipidemia. The NLA-SAP is available for purchase at lipid.org/education/nlasap.

 

On October 19, 2016, I was pleased to represent the NLA at the annual National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention in Washington, DC. This interactive forum allows leaders in cardiovascular health to come together to share best practices, learn new strategies, and collaborate around heart disease and stroke prevention. Member groups had the opportunity to hear exciting innovations and participate in discussion and networking that can foster collaboration to bridge clinical and population health. The theme for this meeting built on a cross-section approach with heart disease and stroke highlighted that these are not just medical problems but community problems that require community as well as medical collaboration. We look forward to working with this group to bridge the gap in knowledge and build alliances that will bring the best healthcare possible to all populations.

 

The 4th annual FH Global Summit was held in Dallas in late October. I was pleased to represent the NLA at this summit along with many other NLA members, where we had the opportunity to share and discuss the current status of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) both in the U.S. and globally. A major highlight of the summit — themed “Transitional Medicine in Familial Hypercholesterolemia” — was the keynote address delivered by Nobel laureates Michael Brown, MD, and Joseph Goldstein, MD, followed by an interactive panel moderated by Daniel Rader, MD. We are proud of our relationship with this organization and look forward to working with them as we learn more about FH and its impact on patients and society in general.

 

The NLA was invited to participate in the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) Town Hall discussing barriers to access to PCSK9 inhibitors. I represented the NLA and participated along with representatives from ASPC, American College of Cardiology, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and the FH Foundation. The project continued with a symposium at the 2016 American Heart Association in November.

 

Through continued efforts of Alan Brown, MD, FNLA, and Carl Orringer, MD, FNLA, the NLA continues to develop a strong working relationship with the American College of Cardiology (ACC). Dr. Orringer participated on the Expert Consensus on Role of Non-Statin Therapies for LDL-C Lowering for Management of ASCVD Risk, which was endorsed exclusively by the NLA. The NLA and ACC are currently discussing joint projects to benefit patient care and provider needs.

 

The new ICD-10 Codes released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are now in effect. The codes became effective Oct. 1, 2016. The two new specific codes for FH are:

• E78.01: Familial hypercholesterolemia
• Z83.42: Family history of familial hypercholesterolemia

The NLA, in collaboration with the FH Foundation, submitted a proposal to the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee to create new, specific ICD-10 codes for FH in January 2014. This action represents an excellent move forward in gaining appropriate identification and care for patients with FH. Congratulations to all on these efforts.

 

On Sept. 1, 2016, the NLA launched its Challenges in Prescribing PCSK9 Inhibitors survey. The goal of the survey was to collect information on each respondent’s experience with PCSK9 inhibitor prescribing challenges in order to support improving patient access to appropriate therapies. The survey closed Oct. 14, 2016, and the NLA steering committee is currently analyzing the data. The NLA will be recording and posting an interim analysis in December 2016, hosting a symposium at the 2017 American College of Cardiology to present the data, and publishing the analysis in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology. A special thanks to the NLA members who responded to the survey. I would also like to recognize the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, American College of Cardiology, and others for their support in distributing the survey electronically to their membership.

 

The NLA has begun accepting applications for the NLA Junior Faculty Research Award. The purpose of the award is to provide salary support to a university or institution to encourage scholarly advancement of junior faculty (qualifying faculty within the first seven years of their career) in the pursuit of a career related to hyperlipidemia and other lipid disorders in humans. The NLA will fund eligible institutions to provide two years’ salary support for those actively involved in clinical and/or basic science that provides promise of developing new information in fields of study that could advance the diagnosis and management of lipid disorders. The awards will be to support two individual investigators: one with research focused in pre-clinical and basic science and the second with focus on clinical research and will be referred to as the NLA Basic Science Research Award and the NLA Clinical Lipidology Research Award. More details are available at lipid.org/researchaward. We wish to extend a sincere thank you to Amgen, Inc. for its support of the NLA Junior Faculty Research Award.

 

The Communications Council and staff continue to develop the NLA social media presence to bring news and content to the NLA membership and beyond. We are constantly providing updates and new content and need everyone to follow us:

 

• Twitter: twitter.com/nationallipid
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/national-lipid-association
• Facebook: facebook.com/nationallipid
• Instagram: instagram.com/nationallipid

 

The NLA had three more outstanding meetings in 2016 and we are looking forward to our meeting series in 2017. The 2017 meetings include:

Spring Clinical Lipid Update
February 24–26, 2017
Phoenix, AZ

Scientific Sessions
May 18–21, 2017
Philadelphia, PA

15th Anniversary
Fall Clinical Lipid Update
August 11–13, 2017
Indianapolis, IN

 

As always, thank you to our members, sponsors, and associates for your support in the work of the NLA, no organization is an island and together we continue to move forward meeting our goals and carrying out our mission. I am looking forward to welcoming you to the Spring Clinical Lipid Update in Phoenix in February.