After two years of mounting success with the IC³ Program® pilot, one of the largest practice-level scientific efforts ever undertaken in the United States, the ACC’s NCDR® is pleased to announce that the IC³ Program is now the PINNACLE Registry™.

The PINNACLE Registry will continue to build on the success of the IC³ Program and use the NCDR to give practices negotiating power in today’s rapidly shifting business environment. The IC³ Program was designed exclusively for the practice setting to give clinicians a powerful means for thriving in today’s quality-conscious, performance-based reimbursement environment. The ACC spent two years developing the IC³ Program, in order to ensure that all elements of the program are successful and are providing our participants with easy-to-interpret and credible reports. Today, there are more than 180 practices participating, representing nearly 700 practice locations, thousands of physicians, and more than 300,000 patient records.

As the pilot phase comes to a close, the IC³ Program is now elevated to the status of an NCDR registry. Under its new name, the PINNACLE Registry, it will join the fellow registries that make the NCDR the preeminent cardiovascular data repository in the United States. The NCDR’s suite of registries collects patient risk factors, procedures, devices and clinical outcomes, and provides evidence-based quality improvement solutions for cardiologists and other medical professionals. With more than 10 million patient records, NCDR’s decade-long commitment to quality improvement, clinical excellence and improved patient outcomes uniquely positions NCDR to help participating facilities and medical professionals. The PINNACLE Registry, as part of the NCDR suite of clinical registries, will continue to build on this solid reputation and provide the quality measurement solutions practices need to survive and thrive in today’s competitive health care marketplace.

The PINNACLE Registry will provide a centralized system for clinical practices to promote practice innovations and achieve clinical excellence. Participating in the registry is FREE and offers many advantages, including:

	Easy-to-interpret quarterly benchmark reports that validate the quality care that practices provide and pinpoint opportunities for improvement
	Access to relevant data focusing on coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart failure and atrial fibrillation—the four most common cardiovascular conditions
	Minimal data collection that delivers maximum clinical value
	Multiple methods of data submission that fit seamlessly into any practice’s workflow

When so much of private practice success depends on data—payments, professional reputation, negotiating strength, and, of course, the health of the patients—a practice can’t entrust its data to just anyone.

For more information about the PINNACLE Registry and the NCDR, go to www.ncdr.com.