The Heart Rhythm journey: Education, engagement, and expanding reach

Abstract

The vision of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) is to “end death and suffering from heart rhythm disorders,” which is certainly a bold and courageous goal. If anyone can achieve this, I am confident that our passionate members can. Innovation, hard work, and discovery have taken us on an incredible journey over the past 40 years and steered us to the road of success. We are experiencing many challenges and changes within our health care systems, but our determination to provide the highest quality care for our patients keeps us steady, overcoming obstacles. HRS is known for the creation of scientific documents that promote evidence-based medicine and help guide diagnostic approaches and therapies for our patients. For US members, the society remains committed to continue to work with regulatory agencies to ensure that practitioners have appropriate resources and reimbursement required to deliver the best patient care. Our US physician members have also been challenged by changing recertification requirements. We continue to advocate strenuously for a less disruptive and more customizable program that is relevant to the physician. This process should be seamless and incorporated into the physician’s usual practice, with a goal of continuous learning as opposed to intermittent secure and high stakes examinations. We are a global society and global citizens. Collaborating with our international colleagues is one of the most impactful things we can do to learn from each other and foster excellence in the care of patients with arrhythmias everywhere. This year we have continued to promote multinational consensus document initiatives, societal partnerships with regional and international meetings, and our ambassadors program, which helps identify areas where HRS can support local efforts outside the United States. We are a society that deeply values education. In addition to our annual scientific sessions, HRS has continued to develop options such as streaming and online educational opportunities. With the development of our new digital learning platform Heart Rhythm 365, convenient and user-friendly educational content is available for the electrophysiology community when and how they want it, including a new mobile application. The continued growth of our field depends on the cultivation of innovative, diverse, and dedicated leaders. I am passionate about engaging our earlier career members in mentoring and growth opportunities to prepare them for roles as our future leaders. HRS has also committed to piloting a formalized leadership development training program. Although many of our members are involved in research, our society has had limited formalized research opportunities for mentorship. Therefore, we recently launched Research Connect, a new online research community and portal, to engage early and established career researchers. In addition to member development, our journals exemplify our commitment to research and include the Heart Rhythm Journal, Heart Rhythm Case Reports, and now new open access Heart Rhythm O2 and Digital Health journal. Clearly our future is related to an increased emphasis on digital processes. Digital health and advancements in technology can help identify arrhythmias at an earlier stage. The newly created Digital Health Committee and journal have elevated this focus to a higher priority. Although a single year is a short time to fully cultivate all these goals, we have a great start and a highly committed team to work on furthering education, enhancing reach, and promoting engagement. I will do my best to serve the membership and help steer us along the road of our important journey to promote excellence in heart rhythm care around the globe.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT) Andrea M. Russo, MD, FHRS President, Heart Rhythm Society