PATIENTS. The greater well-being of patients, from infancy to old age, should be the key point of all health policy decision-making. The patient-doctor relationship is pivotal to successful, high-quality health care and should be protected from unnecessary external influences.
ACCESS. Public and private health insurance programs should be comprehensive, affordable, and free from unnecessary restrictions. All patients should have access to high-quality cardiovascular interventions.
COST. The cost of health care should be rationally related to the value of the goods and services provided to patients in the most appropriate and efficient setting. Reimbursement for interventional cardiology services should reflect medical inflation and regional variation to ensure patient access to care.
QUALITY. The science of medicine should be the cornerstone of health policy. Evidence-based medical practices and continuous quality improvement efforts should be promoted.
COMPETITION. Market-based competition should be fair, balanced, transparent, and in the best interest of the patient and the medical needs. Public and private market policies and practices should not stifle reasonable competition in health care or allow for unfair advantage. Conflicts of interest and commercial bias must be disclosed and discouraged.
WORKFORCE. Policy interventions related to the workforce should be targeted at strategies aimed toward attracting and retaining skilled interventional cardiology professionals at all stages of their careers to ensure high-quality care. Programs that support a diverse and inclusive high-quality workforce are critical to ensuring ongoing community support. Physicians must have autonomy to provide the best medical care for their patients according to their training, guidelines, and scientific evidence.
WELL-BEING. Employed interventional cardiologists should be provided the same legal and fiduciary duties by their employers as other employees, including programs and policies related to their health, safety and welfare.
TECHNOLOGY. New technologies and methods of interventional cardiology should be guided by science, safety, and efficacy. Machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies should be evaluated for efficacy, accuracy, openness, and transparency.
PRIVACY. Patient privacy must be ensured and safeguarded in the implementation of healthcare policies and practices.
PREVENTION. Preventive healthcare measures should be promoted to reduce the incidence and burden of cardiovascular disease.
