At its recent annual patient conference (7–9 August, Dallas, USA), StopAfib.org bestowed its prestigious Eric N Prystowsky Advocate for Patients Award on Jonathan Piccini (Duke University, Durham, USA) to recognise his “outstanding commitment” to atrial fibrillation (AF) patients and their families.
Piccini is a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist and the Ursula Geller distinguished professor of medicine at Duke University, and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He is also the director of cardiac electrophysiology for the Duke University Health System. Piccini is an associate editor of JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and former member of the Heart Rhythm Society’s (HRS) board of trustees, and has more than 600 publications in heart rhythm medicine.
“Dr Piccini is a true innovator on the front lines of AF research and treatment,” said Mellanie True Hills, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of StopAfib.org. “As a co-author of many guidelines and consensus statements around the globe, his patient focus helps guide clinicians in treating their patients. Dr Piccini continues to involve patients and our perspectives in numerous initiatives. Patients are not always listened to in clinician circles, but when the most highly respected clinicians bring our messages to their colleagues, our concerns get heard.”
Eric N Prystowsky—an electrophysiologist at St Vincent Indianapolis (Indianapolis, USA)—was the first recipient of the Advocate for Patients Award in 2013. At its patient conference in 2016, StopAfib.org renamed the award in Prystowsky’s honour, and bestows it on a deserving healthcare professional each year.
“He was selected because he has played such an important role in getting the AF patient community a seat at the table, so patient values and preferences are considered in decisions about our care,” Hills added. “This award is special because patients bestow it upon a clinician who demonstrates outstanding commitment to—and contributions for the benefit of—AF patients and their families.”
