Alfred Bove knows sometimes you have to give up one passion to pursue another. He stepped down as section chief of cardiology at Temple University Hospital last September, not to relax or reflect on 18 collective years at the helm, but to take on a new role. In March, Bove will be sworn in as president of the American College of Cardiology for a one-year term.

“We’re calling my year the year of the patient,” said Bove, M.D., Ph.D., emeritus professor of medicine at Temple University School of Medicine. “We made a commitment to become a patient-center organization and to start to really pay more attention to their needs.”

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) was founded in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care and to influence healthcare policy. Through education seminars and research, members learn about innovations in heart health from their peers. Their membership has grown to 36,000 strong and includes physicians, nurses and physician assistants.

Now, as the ACC celebrates its 60th anniversary, Bove wants to continue that mission while adding new programs that create more of a partnership between physician and patient. He’ll draw on his years of research on Internet-based telemedicine to implement a new tool on the ACC web site that will let patients track their blood pressure. He also expects state chapters to offer informational seminars to help patients ask the right questions during doctor visits.

“These approaches will include the patient as part of the care team,” he said. “This is the new algorithm and we want to be on the front end of that in cardiology.”

And while Bove expects his ACC duties will take up to 70 percent of his time, he’ll still see patients and continue research projects at Temple. It’s that commitment that not only led to this ACC appointment, but led to his selection last year to receive the Edward S. Cooper, MD Humanitarian Award from the American Heart Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.