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  • icon‘If That’s Not Expanding Scope, I Don’t Know What Is’: Bill Grants Scope Shortcut to Rural APRNs - 5/6/2025 9:15:02 PM

    How many physicians does it take to stop a bad scope expansion bill? With patient safety on the line, Texas Medical Association physicians took no chances, showing up in force in opposition to Senate Bill 3055 as it went before the Senate State Affai...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - April 2025 - 4/29/2025 11:11:43 PM

    April 30, 2025 TexMed Speaker to Tackle Drug Pricing, Entrepreneurship Outgoing TMA President G. Ray Callas, MD, Traverses Texas to Advocate for Medicine April 29, 2025 Top Technology Recommendations Align with TMA Policy, Education Apply ...

  • iconUpdates in Pain Medicine for Opioid Prescribing, UDT - 4/29/2025 3:38:06 PM

  • icon04.21.2025 House Bill 3219 Removing Clinical Involvement in Prescribing Poses Risks to Patient Safety, TMA Testifies - 4/22/2025 7:19:48 PM

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - December 2022 - 4/17/2025 8:15:11 PM

    Dec. 16, 2022 Satisfy CME Mandates With TMA Courses  Check Claims Dates for Drug Administration as 2023 Coding Updates Loom Newborn Screening Kits Expire Dec. 31; Cost Updates Expected Spring 2023 Apply for MIPS Hardship Relief by Jan. 3 ...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - October 2023 - 4/17/2025 8:04:23 PM

    Oct. 31, 2023 CDC Grant Funds Drug Overdose Data Collection in Texas TMA Has Your Mandated CME – For Free  Smith County Podcast Sparks Alliance Connections Oct. 30, 2023 Feds Update HIPAA Security Risk Assessment Tool Proposition 8 A...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - November 2023 - 4/17/2025 7:58:03 PM

    Nov. 30, 2023 CMS Strengthens Price Transparency for Hospitals Nov. 29, 2023 Deadline: Apply for 2023 MIPS Hardship Exemption by Jan. 2 Feds Extend Telemedicine Prescribing Flexibilities Through 2024 PAI Study Shows Cost-Savings of Physici...

  • iconMedicine Whelms Nurse Scope Expansion Bill - 4/15/2025 9:06:30 PM

    Wave after wave of white coats took to the microphone during a lengthy and intense hearing on a nurse scope bill, deflecting and derailing claims that such expansion is the magical, no-cost answer to solving Texas’ rural access-to-care shortages. ...

  • iconSponsored Content: Make an Impact on Your Patients and Practice - 4/14/2025 5:52:45 PM

    It is a busy afternoon, and a patient comes to your office to discuss ongoing pain from a previous injury. You check the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) and find concerning data indicating potential prescription opioid misuse and a seriou...

  • icon03.18.25 TMA Federal Comments to DEA Telemedicine Prescribing - 3/31/2025 7:59:51 PM

  • iconTMA Foundation General Endowment Improving the Health of More Texans - 3/21/2025 1:45:29 PM

    The General Endowment has funded $276,239 program grants and $463,401 for TMAF operations capacity in the nearly seven years it has made distributions.   2024-2025 Grants Continued support to improve the health and well-being of chil...

  • iconPractice E-Tips on Legal Topics - 3/17/2025 3:30:12 PM

    Advertising/Marketing | Billing & Coding | Contracts | Court | Delegation of Duties | Health Care Payment Plans | HIPAA | Informed Consent | Medicaid & Medicare | Medical R...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - March 2023 - 3/14/2025 7:07:24 PM

    March 31, 2023 TMA to Congress: Tie Medicare Physician Payment to Inflation TMA Testifies on Flurry of Insurance, Public Health Bills U.S. Main Residency Match Posts Another Year of Record-High Positions New Cigna Policy Requires Additional Doc...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - January 2025 - 2/27/2025 10:36:26 PM

    Jan. 31, 2025 Participate in Practice Acquisition Survey to Inform Advocacy Check Eligibility for Medicare Bonus Following Annual HPSA Update Fees to Remain Unchanged for Federal Surprise Billing Dispute Resolution Doctor’s Orders to ‘Eat Healt...

  • iconScope Bills, Budget Gains Mark Start of 2025 Legislative Session - 2/10/2025 5:52:23 PM

    Capping off a robust week of advocacy, the Texas Medical Association has begun its work targeting a pair of scope-of-practice infringement bills before the 2025 Texas Legislature and digging into the Senate’s first take on a proposed state budget....

  • iconCongress Extends Medicare Telehealth Waivers, Payment for Audio-Only Visits - 1/10/2025 11:07:33 PM

    With telehealth extensions granted under the American Relief Act, TMA has updated its telehealth waiver chart to reflect these temporary changes that, among others, waive geographic site restrictions for mental health telemedicine services provi...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - December 2024 - 1/4/2025 1:24:30 AM

    Dec. 20, 2024  DSHS Updates Patient Education Resource for Prenatal Practitioners TMA to Represent Texas Physicians’ Coding, Payment Concerns on National Credentialing Organization TMA Foundation Gala Co-Chairs to Lead Fundraising Effort ...

  • iconMedicine Meets AI: Artificial Intelligence Has Potential in Patient Care - 12/20/2024 10:47:30 PM

    Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology isn’t a futuristic concept for League City family physician Priya Kalia, MD. In fact, as an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Dr. K...

  • iconTMA Installs Beaumont Anesthesiologist as President - 12/10/2024 12:18:36 AM

    May 4, 2024 The Texas Medical Association (TMA) installed Beaumont anesthesiologist G. Ray Callas, MD, as president during TexMed, the association’s annual conference, held in Dallas this year. “It’s an honor and a privilege to take care of patie...

  • iconVoice of Reason: TMA’s Board of Councilors Tackles Ethical Policymaking - 12/5/2024 7:08:18 PM

    College Station urologist Alisa Berger, MD, spent years unaware of the Texas Medical Association Board of Councilors. She’s pretty sure she learned about the board while enrolled in TMA’s Leadership College as a young physician. But it didn’t stick u...

  • iconTMA Ask the Expert: Delegate to Nonphysician Practitioners - 12/5/2024 1:23:13 AM

    Delegating prescriptive authority to nonphysician practitioners (NPPs), such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, can help physicians manage their workloads and budgets. But doing so requires vigilance to comply with state scope-of-practi...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - February 2023 - 12/5/2024 12:56:50 AM

    Feb. 28, 2023 Lege Poised to Boost GME Funding; TMA Urges Rural Workforce Investment New GME Program Creates Rural Training Opportunity Apply Now: Scholarships for Students Who Want to Serve the Underserved Feb. 27, 2023 Medicine Backs Pro...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - November 2022 - 12/5/2024 12:54:57 AM

    Nov. 30, 2022 CDC Revises Opioid Guidelines in the Wake of Confusion, Overreaction Evidence-Based Strategies Key to Fighting Texas Suicide Rates Suicide Risk in Kids With Adverse Childhood Experiences Exacerbated by Pandemic TMA Mobilizes Menta...

  • iconRecord State Budget Opens Door for Health Care Investment - 12/5/2024 12:32:04 AM

    The 88th Texas Legislature kicked off earlier this month, and the Texas Medical Association is already tracking nearly 700 bills, including promising proposals to reduce prior authorization requirements and concerning ones regarding scope expansion.&...

  • iconTexas Medicine Today - April 2023 - 12/5/2024 12:12:46 AM

    April 28, 2023 MIPS Value Pathways Registration Now Open MIPS Hardship Exemption Offered Again in 2023 for COVID Bills Remove Physician Oversight of Health Care Team Congress Weighs Legislation Tying Medicare Physician Payments to Inflation ...

  • iconDEA Extends Controlled Substance Prescribing via Telemedicine Through 2025 - 11/25/2024 5:29:48 PM

    The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for a third time to allow physicians to virtually prescribe certain controlled medications, effective Jan. 1 through Dec...

  • iconSenate Committee Tackles Scope of Practice in Access-to-Care Hearing - 11/18/2024 9:40:33 PM

    In a hearing packed with representatives from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, behavioral health, licensing boards, and academia, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee tackled Texas’ health care workforce shortages with the Texas Medical Associa...

  • iconAbbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions - 11/18/2024 9:06:51 PM

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently listed the fentanyl crisis as one of seven “emergency” items this session, clearing a path toward passage of Texas Medical Association-backed legislation that aims to curb opioid-related deaths. TMA already is trackin...

  • iconSafety in Statute: State Law Guides Violence Prevention in Health Care - 11/18/2024 8:50:47 PM

    Two and a half years after a violent attack on Children’s Medical Group in Austin, pediatrician Tammy McConnell, DO, still can’t go down the side corridor of the office where the horrific shooting of her colleague Lindley Dodson, MD, took place. On ...

  • iconPatient Care Protected: Scope Creep/GME Funding - 11/18/2024 8:21:45 PM

    Related content: 2023 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Secured Big Wins With a New Strategy TMA Priority: Protect independent diagnosing and prescribing as the practice of medicine; address current workforce shortages in a way that ensures patients hav...

  • iconPhysician-Led Results: Scope-of-Practice Creep/GME Funding - 11/18/2024 8:21:03 PM

    TMA priority: Protect independent diagnosing and prescribing as the practice of medicine; address current workforce shortages in a way that ensures patients have access to the same standard of care, no matter where they live.    Session re...

  • iconPatient Care Protected: Medicaid Coverage for Women and Children - 11/18/2024 8:15:57 PM

    Related content: 2023 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Secured Big Wins With a New Strategy TMA Priority: Pursue more comprehensive coverage of and secure additional funding and resources for maternal and behavioral health care for women and children. ...

  • iconTMA to Fight for Health Coverage Expansion, Scope of Practice During 2021 Legislature - 11/18/2024 6:42:54 PM

    Although the details about how the 2021 Texas Legislature will operate beginning in January are still unclear, the topics lawmakers will vigorously debate will have a familiar refrain. At the 2020 Texas Medical Association Advocacy Retreat on Saturd...

  • iconAbbott Signals Support for Opioid Crisis Interventions: Federal Efforts Also Are Underway - 11/18/2024 6:40:04 PM

    Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in February listed the fentanyl crisis as one of seven “emergency” items this session, clearing a path toward passage of Texas Medical Association-backed legislation that aims to curb opioid-related deaths.   Illicit...

  • iconScoping Out the Best Care: TMA Defends Team-Based Care Model - 11/18/2024 6:39:16 PM

    At the outset of the 2023 legislative session, San Antonio pediatric anesthesiologist John Shepherd, MD, put on his white coat and marched to the pink dome in Austin to meet with several Bexar County lawmakers. Although the conversations were wide-r...

  • iconPhysician Input Will Shape CME at TexMed 2025 - 11/12/2024 10:10:37 PM

    Do you have an educational topic in mind to be considered for TexMed 2025?   Submit it now through the application portal by the Dec. 31 deadline.   TMA’s education planning team will evaluate all proposals after Dec. 31. A...

  • iconHow to Renew Your Electronic Prescribing Hardship Waiver - 11/7/2024 3:37:59 PM

    Physicians and other prescribers in Texas must now electronically prescribe controlled substances (EPCS). However, prescribers who demonstrate financial or technical hardships, or other exceptional circumstances, are eligible for a waiver from t...

  • iconTable of Contents: November 2024 Texas Medicine - 11/4/2024 8:20:22 PM

    Texas Medicine Volume 120, Number 9 – November 2024  End-of-Life Care ‘Fighting Our Best’ (pages 14-19) TMA helped craft legislation to help improve the Texas Advance Directives Act and provide welcome liability protections for phys...

  • iconCommunity Grants Since 1998 - 10/29/2024 4:01:16 PM

    Since 1998, preventing disease and injury has been the focus of the foundation’s community grant programs. Each year, TMAF invites TMA’s county medical societies (CMS) and alliance and medical student chapters to apply for a grant in support of their...

  • iconPolicies, Procedures and Forms for Telemedicine Services - 9/17/2024 10:40:58 PM

    Administration and Billing Appointment Scheduling Cancellations and No Shows Patient Check In and Check Out Patient Consent Patient Selection Physician Surroundings and Staff Prescribing and Medication Management Provider to Provider Communica...

  • iconPrescribing and Medication Management telemedicine - 9/17/2024 8:45:43 PM

    Prescribing and Medication Management Purpose To ensure telemedicine patients are prescribed the appropriate medication(s) in a timely manner and effectively managed while on prescribed medication(s). Policy The telemedicine service provider...

  • iconPhysicians Will Lead Legislature’s Controlled Substances Committee - 8/9/2024 7:48:27 PM

    When a special joint committee of the Texas Legislature tackles issues with controlled substances this year, physician-lawmakers will take the lead. House Speaker Joe Straus announced last week via Twitter that Rep. J.D. Sheffield, DO (R-Gatesville)...

  • iconMedicine to Feds: Back Off Prior Authorization Requirements - 8/9/2024 7:38:04 PM

    The Texas Medical Association, American Medical Association, and a host of other medical societies are trying to stop onerous, care-impeding prior authorization (PA) requirements from overrunning Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. In a letter to Centers...

  • iconEffects of Opioids and Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on Chronic Low Back Pain and Related Measures: Results from the PRECISION Pain Research Registry - 7/30/2024 7:01:02 PM

      The Journal — October 2018 Tex Med. 2018;114(10):e1. By John C. Licciardone, DO, MS, MBA1 (corresponding author), Robert J. Gatchel, PhD, ABPP2, and Subhash Aryal, PhD3  1. Department of Family Medicine, University of N...

  • iconKeep Them From Harm and Injustice? - 7/30/2024 6:57:42 PM

    The April 2018 issue of Texas Medicine highlights a significant problem that imperils quality of care and safety in hospitals: a culture of silence. Nearly 20 years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 patients die a...

  • iconHIT Advocacy - 6/27/2024 4:29:20 PM

    What has TMA done to advocate for physicians when it comes to health information technology and the Quality Payment Program (QPP)?   TMA Comment Letter to The Sequoia Project’s Data Usability Workgroup Re: Its Implementation Guide (Oct. 1...

  • iconNew TMA Policy: Reduce Fentanyl Overdoses with Improved Naloxone Access - 6/24/2024 2:45:32 AM

    Over a 27-hour period this spring, the city of Austin saw nine people die across 79 separate overdose incidents, reflecting the severity of the statewide fentanyl crisis. Policy approved by the Texas Medical Association’s House of Delegates in May an...

  • iconDivision of Medical Economics - 6/4/2024 4:00:39 PM

    The Division of Medical Economics represents and advocates for TMA in state and federal regulatory, socioeconomic, and health policy through support and guidance to public, private, and legislative entities, and through development of association pol...

  • iconThe Waco Way: How This Addiction Medicine Specialist Targets Primary Care Challenges - 5/29/2024 2:29:34 AM

    Zachary Sartor, MD, began practicing as an addiction medicine specialist after he saw an uptick in behavioral health disorders among his patients, a trend he found grew exponentially after the COVID-19 pandemic.  “We have reports that show the ...

  • iconDelegates Emphasize Women’s, Reproductive Health Ahead of Legislative Session - 5/15/2024 3:59:21 PM

    The Texas Medical Association, with its sights on the 2025 Texas legislative session, moved forward with policy in alignment with its past and future public health advocacy at TexMed, including a host of new goals for reproductive, women’s, and perin...