rac - A Three-Year Strategic Plan and a Historic Sac Congres

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC PLAN (SP)?

The SP is a general framework or guide to orient the decisions of the Argentine Society of Cardiology (SAC), with the aim of ensuring its coherent and sustainable development over time. It serves to guide actions and investments (in capabilities, time, and funds) and does not condition the initiatives of each member or limit the exercise of the roles assigned to managers in the performance of their duties.

The SP is based on a management consensus aimed at improving decision-making, increasing organizational efficiency, and enhancing the SAC’s contribution to cardiovascular health in the country. A participatory approach was chosen for its implementation, convened by the Presidency and composed of members of the Board of Directors and leaders from different functions within the SAC. Workshops and group meetings were held to gather ideas that, by consensus, should be included in the SP, with an initial time frame of three SAC government terms.

MISSION AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT

The SAC is committed to cardiovascular health in Argentina, striving for excellence in training, equity, and quality in the healthcare system. The SAC researches, teaches, and disseminates medical knowledge to promote the training of qualified professionals and to anticipate global trends in the cardiovascular field.

Pillars of the SP

Three pillars form the initial basis of the SP:

Education
- The central objective is the development of the Institute of Continuing Medical Education, a preliminary step towards the SAC’s University Institute of Continuing Education. This movement centralizes and professionalizes the educational strategy, the generation and transmission of knowledge in medical sciences and cardiology, prioritizing professional development through continuing medical education focused on the benefit of patients. The vision is to make the SAC a leading institution in the training of health professionals, spearheading knowledge generation and technological development in cardiology at the national and international levels.
Research
- The aim is to generate scientific knowledge that will improve clinical practice and the training of highly qualified human resources in cardiology. The goal is to produce rigorous and ethically sustainable research, generating national data and statistics on cardiovascular health. This block aims to become the SAC’s scientific methodology, representing the cardiovascular reality of the country, promoting plural and federal participation, and promoting multicenter registries and the inclusion of research centers throughout Argentina.
SAC Members Area
- The creation of the training program for leading cardiologists responds to the need to professionalize leadership and management within the SAC, preparing it to face technological advances, globalization, and social changes. To be sustainable over time, these guidelines must incorporate criteria of social equity, allowing the development of all people regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status.

STRATEGIC CHALLENGES FOR THE COMING YEARS (SUMMARY)

Creation of the University Institute and professionalization of the teaching area, with the aim of training human capital to take on transformative leadership in the health system.
Development of the SAC professional career and consolidation of the Membership Area, seeking to strengthen management and leadership practices to harmonize and optimize institutional processes. The motto remains: “Where there is unity, there is victory” (Ubi concordia, ibi victoria).
Formation of a National Network of Researchers that guarantees representation of the population and has continuous, high-quality records that are representative of the reality of the healthcare system.
Consolidation of national, regional, and international alliances that transcend the field of cardiology.
Promotion of citizen participation through the community arm of the Argentine Cardiology Foundation.
Becoming a benchmark for cardiovascular health before the Ministry of Health of the Nation, the provinces, and the municipalities, with two concrete actions to reduce cardiovascular mortality: a program of heart attack networks and strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and blood pressure control.

ENVIRONMENT: FUTURE TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

Strategic analysis points to profound changes in cardiology worldwide and, particularly, in our country in recent years. Among these, the acceleration in the development and implementation of innovations, diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, as well as the emergence of artificial intelligence and its rapid application in clinical practice, research, and management stand out. In Argentina, these innovations coexist with challenges of infrastructure, accessibility, inequalities, and a heterogeneous, fragmented, and underfunded health system, conditions that impact healthcare and continuing education.

The SAC is not immune to this environment; therefore, it must incorporate these realities when planning and designing future projects and initiatives aimed at collaborating in the training of more competent cardiologists and in the defense of the cardiovascular health of the population. Without quality human resources, there can be no excellence in medical care.

Macro factors influencing the profession and society

The evolution of science and technology will generate significant changes, among which the following stand out:

The integration of data and information on individuals and patients into large databases, access to which could facilitate ministerial coordination for the exclusive use of improving national health.
Doctors could find their decisions constrained when they contradict those derived from algorithms; if these decisions are not correct, they could be exposed to litigation. Defensive medicine could shift from excessive testing to obedience to the system.
Medicine and cardiology will move toward modalities that require emotional intelligence, communication, and shared decision-making in defense of the patient, their context, and their family

Macroeconomic and social challenges

Aging population.
Advances in life-prolonging treatments.
Economic challenges arising from high healthcare costs and inflation.
Increased environmental pollution and its deleterious effects on cardiovascular health.

Professional societies of the future

The coming decades will demand radical changes in a world that, through science, knowledge, and innovation, will optimize patient care and outcomes. The SAC must strengthen itself to become:

The professional home of cardiologists, with fair and transparent governance and actionable knowledge for members, focused on people-centered medical care.
A benchmark for quality, equity, and value in cardiovascular care.
A coordinator of centers for obtaining quality data that will enable the generation of reliable knowledge in indigenous research.
An organization that evaluates and selects emerging technologies for best practice guidelines, with cost-effectiveness analysis and regional application.
A leader in education that adapts to new paradigms, providing information on emerging technologies and maintaining a critical approach to evidence.
A promoter of environmental health, nutrition, healthy habits, and mental health among the population. Support for cardiologists facing exhaustion and burnout, especially during health crises.
A contingency plan to respond to cardiovascular emergencies in the event of future health crises.
A promoter of patient schools to inform and educate the community about care and best practices in cardiology.
An advisor and active participant in the decisions of health authorities at all levels, to defend the needs of patients, the specialty, and the working conditions of professionals.
A program to attract and train young talent, with tutoring and mentoring to strengthen their career path.
A promoter of decentralized and efficient healthcare networks, with referrals according to the complexity of each case.
An articulator to reformulate training and evaluation criteria for residents in the face of rapid technological changes.
A bridge with other scientific and medical societies and associations to harmonize healthcare practices and policies in cardiology.
A promoter of the responsible use of artificial intelligence, with ethical and safety frameworks; the possibility of creating an AI and telemedicine laboratory applied to cardiology could facilitate the evaluation of usefulness, safety, and feasibility.
The Argentine Journal of Cardiology (RAC) must continue to disseminate regional knowledge and seek global expansion, complying with international standards.

CHALLENGES TO BE RESOLVED

Based on strategic initiatives (University Institute, teaching area, development of the SAC career, and promotion of research), the SAC will seek to consolidate international alliances, promote citizen participation through the Argentine Cardiology Foundation, and establish itself as a reference point for the Ministry of Health, provinces, and municipalities. Among the challenges are:

Globalization of knowledge: ensuring the quality and relevance of information, promoting research networks, and adapting guidelines to local realities.
Relationship with governments and institutions: maintaining constant dialogue with authorities and universities, defending evidence-based policies, and securing resources for prevention, research, and training.
Relationship with patients: countering misinformation and promoting education and reliable resources.
Relationship with industry and suppliers: maintaining transparency and balance between the dissemination of innovations and good practices.
Professional commitment: strengthen leadership and management, adapt training to new technologies, and support cardiologists in the face of burnout and structural transformations.

Looking to the future

The SAC aims to consolidate its position as the professional home for cardiologists, promoting quality, equity, and value in cardiovascular care; coordinating networks that generate reliable data; rigorously evaluating emerging technologies; and maintaining ethical principles in the use of artificial intelligence. With these foundations, we seek to achieve a more accessible, efficient, and humane cardiology.