The 2018 American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Expert Consensus Systems of Care Document: Operator and Institutional Recommendations and Requirements for Transcatheter aortic Valve Replacement has been published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In addition to releasing the updated multisociety Expert Consensus Systems of Care document, the ACC—along with AATS, SCAI and STS—will submit comments to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in response to its request for public comments on a National Coverage Analysis (NCA) to reconsider the national coverage determination (NCD) for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The comments will use the document as a framework for supporting an updated NCD.
On July 25, CMS is convening a panel of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) to discuss procedural volume requirements for hospitals and heart team members to begin and maintain TAVI programmes. The ACC is participating in the meeting. Lastly, based on the recommendations for external review and accreditation in the Expert Consensus document, as well as the CMS decision to reconsider its current TAVI NCD, the ACC is preparing to offer an external review and accreditation process that would assist hospitals in meeting standards such as multidisciplinary teams, formalised training, shared decision making and registry performance.
