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NATT PRAISES SURGEON GENERAL’S OFFICE FOR ISSUING "CALL TO ACTION" TO PREVENT DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS AND PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Lori Preston & Surgeon General GalsonTarrytown, NY – September 15, 2008  - The National Alliance for Thrombosis and Thrombophilia (NATT) today praised Acting Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, MD, MPH for issuing an historic “Call to Action” to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE).

RADM Galson presented the Call to Action at the Grand Hyatt in Washington DC this morning.  Click here to read the full text of the call to action. Dr. Galson called for “the development of a coordinated strategy to improve awareness of DVT and PE,” pointing out that blood clots “contribute to at least 100,000 deaths each year.”

“Today will be forever  remembered as the turning point in the battle against blood clots (DVT/PE).” Said NATT President Randy Fenninger.  “NATT is committed to working aggressively to build on the momentum of this important “Call to Action”.  

NATT is executing a strategic plan of awareness and education (consumers, patients and health professionals), outreach, advocacy and support towards achieving the goals of the “Call to Action”.

Blood Clots are far more frequent than most people understand because they are often secondary to other underlying illnesses or conditions. For example, some of those most vulnerable to DVT/PEs  include people being hospitalized, undergoing major surgery (e.g. hip or knee replacement) or living in nursing homes. Others at risk include people with cancer, travelers on long trips (e.g. train, airplane), older age, obesity, women on hormone replacement therapy, birth control (pills, patch, ring) or pregnancy/recently gave birth or genetic/hereditary or acquired blood clotting disorder. 

"NATT is so pleased that Acting Surgeon General Galson was able to coordinate the different agencies of the Public Health Service to support this landmark report" said NATT Vice President Lori Preston.“ As patients, we at NATT are so proud that NATT lay and medical leadership were able to contribute to the Surgeon General’s report” said Preston who attended today’s briefing with Mr. Fenninger.  

NATT Medical Director Stephan Moll, MD said “the CTA underscores the public health urgency of preventing the hundreds of thousands of deaths and DVT / PEs that occur each year.”

In cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  NATT will be convening “Stop the Clot Forums”  for patient and consumer education:

There have been major events in the past year in the battle against blood clots. CDC has designated thrombosis as a priority, increasing surveillance of DVT/PE in the US and entering into a cooperative agreement with NATT to educate patients, the public and healthcare professionals. In August, The  Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final regulations that recognizes DVT/PE as Hospital Acquired Conditions (HAC) for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery because, with proper prophylaxis, DVT/PE can be prevented most of the time. Click here for FAQ's about the Surgeon General's call to action.

NATT Medicare/Medicaid Victory! 

CMS Announcement Will Lead to Many Saved Lives

On July 31, 2008, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that finances Medicare and Medicaid, in keeping with NATT’s position, announced dramatic steps to curtail medical errors that lead to blood clots in patients following total knee and hip replacement procedures. Because appropriate prophylaxis is highly effective in preventing a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) in knee and hip replacement patients, CMS will no longer reimburse hospitals for costs associated with this care, even if the blood clots occur for a period of time after hospital discharge. The fiscal reality of reimbursement denial will provide an incentive for hospitals and surgeons to make sure that best practices are followed in preventing clotting, which will now be considered a medical error when these regulations go into effect on October 1, 2008.

Randy Fenninger stated that "this is a landmark decision that will lead to many lives saved in the years ahead."

NATT executive director Alan Brownstein said "I am proud that NATT with guidance from the leadership from our Medical and Scientific Advisory Board, presented a forceful, but balanced position paper tying quality of care to reimbursement." Brownstein added, "indeed NATT assumed an important 'stop the clot' position, and so did CMS."

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