Stories written by Jessica Ridge

Legislature Boosts Nutrition, Physical Activity in Texas Schools, Adds Physician CME Requirement - 09/12/2025

Senate Bills 25 and 379, which took effect Sept. 1, guarantee physical activity and recess for grade school children and ban sugar-sweetened drinks and candy from SNAP, respectively. Meanwhile, TMA is monitoring medical school and CME requirements still in development.

Opioid Labeling Changes Leave Room for Physician Judgment - 09/11/2025

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is revamping safety labels for opioid pain medications. The new recommendations may provide physicians with more confidence in treating patients.

‘This Is the Teach One’: Physician-Led CME Is Rooted in Relevance and Firsthand Experience - 09/10/2025

CME developed and transmitted by TMA undergoes a rigorous vetting process informed by physician input and expertise.

‘An Honor and a Tremendous Relief’: Scholarship Furthers Medical Careers - 09/08/2025

Sixteen Houston area medical students received awards from the Harris County Medical Society Alliance Scholarship Fund to buffer the costs of medical school. The scholarships help defray debt and soften the edges of expenses that pile up in the second half of medical school.

New CME Helps Physicians Detect a High-Risk Pregnancy Complication that Masquerades as Mundane - 09/08/2025

Unchecked, outcomes can be dire. Physicians can access CME to help identify hyperemesis gravidarum and defuse the risk it poses to patients and their pregnancies.

2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Deflects Onerous Reporting Regs for Independent Practices - 09/02/2025

Far-reaching health care consolidation legislation littered with unintended consequences and laden with potential financial and civil penalties for uncomplicated business transactions was defeated by TMA advocacy.

2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: Life of the Mother Act Provides Clarity Around Medical Emergency Exception for Pregnant Patients - 09/02/2025

TMA was heavily involved in advocating and refining Senate Bill 31, the Life of the Mother Act, to bring much-needed clarity to physicians regarding the medical emergency exception to the state's abortion prohibition.

2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Helps Craft Balanced Noncompete Compromise - 09/02/2025

TMA helps strike a balance on noncompete agreements between employer and employee members that reconciles the priorities of each contingent without being overly restrictive to either.

‘There’s Never a Good Time to Let Your Guard Down’: Measles Outbreak Ends, But Risks Remain - 08/28/2025

The West Texas measles outbreak has ended, officially. Nearly 100 people were hospitalized, and two fatalities occurred in school-aged children; the state spent between $8 million and $9 million to mount its response.

Joy in the House of Medicine: New TMAF President Clifford Moy, MD, Posits Participation as a ‘Real Feel-Good Moment for Physicians’ - 08/27/2025

Clifford Moy, MD, is the new president of the Texas Medical Association Foundation (TMAF).

Many Adolescents Who Vape Want to Quit, Study Finds - 08/27/2025

Along with recent advocacy wins by medicine, appropriate support can help teenagers who want to quit using e-cigarettes. Physicians can initiate the conversation and steer patients who want to kick the habit toward solutions.

West Nile Virus Begins to Percolate in Texas - 08/18/2025

Locally contracted and travel-acquired mosquito-borne viruses have begun their annual ascent. Proactive personal protection and public health measures mitigate the risk.

New Tool Alerts Physicians, Patients to Dangerous Heat Levels, Related Risks - 08/15/2025

For patients at greater risk, health-related heat impacts can stack up on 100-plus degree days. A new resource, localized by ZIP code, aims to simplify gauging the hazards of a given summer day and includes clinician guidance.

New TMA Policy Sparked by Physician’s Commitment to Sleep Health - 08/12/2025

TMA’s obstructive sleep apnea policy, adopted at TexMed 2025 and rooted in a physician’s desire to bolster maternal health, extends the reach of its author’s recommendation for universal screening. A sleep questionnaire can help physicians align their practice with the policy.

'The Canary in the Coal Mine': Wastewater Testing Advances Improve Physician and Public Readiness for Outbreaks - 08/08/2025

Houston is home to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System of Excellence.

Ten Specialties Show Lower Intent-to-Quit Rates - 08/06/2025

With nearly one-third of physicians reporting an intention to leave their current organization in the next two years, an American Medical Association survey shows the 10 specialties with the lowest percentages, likely due to progress on burnout rates.

Measles Threat in West Texas Wanes, But Endemic Risk Persists - 07/30/2025

As the state’s numbers stabilize, public health authorities reiterate the importance of communication and information sharing amid an outbreak. TMA members can support immunization activities in their communities with a Vaccines Defend What Matters grant.

Budgetary Boost to Prehospital Whole Blood Access in Texas Stands to Save Lives - 07/29/2025

Texas’ Whole Blood Task Force will receive more than double its requested appropriation, supporting more emergency units in administering lifesaving prehospital whole blood to trauma patients, obstetrical patients, and patients with gastrointestinal bleeding.

‘We’ve Got a Long Way to Go’: Physician Burnout Persists Amid Modest Reduction - 07/21/2025

Burnout is down and satisfaction with work-life integration is up, a Mayo Clinic study reveals. But the practice of medicine remains fraught as physicians incur a heavy mental load to continue heeding what is for many a calling.

Contaminant Containment: Countering Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Takes Physician Awareness and Prompt Reporting - 06/26/2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates each year some 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness, more than 127,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

Vaccines Still Offer Best Protection Against Respiratory Viruses, Medicine Affirms in Open Letter - 06/25/2025

Alongside the American Medical Association and state medical societies nationwide, TMA added its signatory to a reaffirmation of the value of vaccines to protect against flu, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses ahead of an expected difficult season.

TMA Grants Build Community Connections for Underserved Patients - 06/24/2025

Applications are open through Aug. 22 for Vaccines Defend What Matters local impact grants. The $3,500 grants, funded by the TMA Foundation, can be used to vaccinate underserved and uninsured populations and toward outreach initiatives that address vaccine hesitancy. Read more.

A Form of Balance: Dedication to Dance Enables Arathi Shah, MD, to Have Elusive Equilibrium - 06/23/2025

As Arathi Shah, MD, was finishing medical school in western India, a second crucible in the guise of a graduation ceremony awaited her. It also entailed yearslong preparation, rigorous training, and time with friends cut short.  

The Essence of Outreach: TMA Health Beat Broadens Its Audience to Advocate More Effectively for Physicians - 06/23/2025

Louise Bethea, MD, sometimes encounters resistance in persuading her patients with asthma to adhere to their daily medication regimen. It’s a problem she attributes, in part, to low health care literacy.

Study: Maternal Mental Health Shows Significant Declines - 06/23/2025

Self-reported declines in maternal mental health could portend adverse outcomes for children. State and national resources help physicians connect parents to help.