Stories with related Professional Interests

Survey: Health Officials Plan for Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution - 10/18/2021

As approval for a pediatric version of the COVID-19 vaccine gets underway, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is planning ahead for its distribution and needs your feedback by 5 pm CT this Wednesday, Oct. 20.

You Can Help Prevent Family Violence During COVID-19 - 10/13/2021

How has family violence changed during COVID-19 and how can medicine respond? Four members of the Texas Medical Association Subcommittee on Behavioral Health address those questions and more in a new TMA Practice Well podcast – Family Violence During COVID-19.

Vaccines Defend What Matters Social Media Toolkit - 10/12/2021

Vaccines Defend What Matters is TMA’s integrated, multimedia public health education and advocacy effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination rates in Texas.

El Paso Finds a Recipe for Vaccination Success - 10/11/2021

While city and county health authorities all over Texas keep searching for a recipe to get more local residents vaccinated for COVID-19, El Paso – the city and the county – have found what Ogechika Alozie, MD, calls a “secret sauce.”

Overdoses Still Climb Despite Big Drop in Prescription Opioids - 10/08/2021

The number of opioid prescriptions has dropped 44% since 2011, yet there are still more drug-related overdose deaths than ever – a clear sign policymakers should work to remove barriers to care for patients, according to the American Medical Association’s 2021 Overdose Epidemic Report.

CDC: Physicians Should “Strongly Recommend” COVID Vaccine for Pregnant People - 10/05/2021

In light of a low COVID-19 vaccination rate among people who are pregnant, and a recent high in COVID-19-related deaths among that population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is asking health care professionals to “strongly recommend” the vaccine to people who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or might become pregnant in the future.

Tobacco Control Coalition Requests Prevention Funds - 10/04/2021

Telling state leaders “there has never been a more important time to help tobacco users quit,” Texas Tobacco Control Partners – a coalition that includes the Texas Medical Association – is asking for a $6 million boost to state funding for tobacco-use prevention and cessation.

What Texas Physicians Need to Know About COVID-19 Boosters - 10/04/2021

COVID-19 booster shots are important for some groups of vaccinated people, and recent events have added to confusion about who can and should get them, and when. This article seeks to clarify some of that confusion.

Afghan Evacuees Eligible for Health Insurance, CMS Says - 10/04/2021

Nearly 4,500 people in the first group of evacuees to the U.S. from Afghanistan will resettle in Texas. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says most evacuees will be eligible for health insurance, and the agency has released guidance outlining their health coverage options.

Get Help Applying for Provider Relief Funds - 10/04/2021

Planning to apply for financial assistance through the fourth phase of the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (PRF), or for funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) targeted toward rural practitioners? If so, the federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has several technical assistance webinars coming up with guidance on how to navigate the PRF portal, including one this Tuesday, Oct. 5, from 2- to 3 pm CT.

Talk to Patients About: Breakthrough Infections - 10/04/2021

The new mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 are highly effective at giving people immunity against the disease. But as with all other vaccines, that immunity is not 100% for everyone who receives them.

An Overworked Force: Texas Grapples With Medical Staffing Shortage Amid COVID-19 Surge - 10/03/2021

Texas grapples with a medical staffing shortage amid a renewed COVID-19 surge.

Social Determinants Undermine Patient Health - 09/30/2021

For many patients, roadblocks  like a broken air conditioner neglected by the landlord  are the social determinants of health that impact their well-being and quality of life, and can harm their health. Physicians say the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also revealed how deeply social determinants disproportionately affect certain populations. For example, due to chronic structural inequities that affect wellbeing, such as safe housing, access to medical care, and certain jobs that carry a higher risk of disease exposure, COVID-19 has disproportionately sickened, hospitalized, and killed people of color and those with low incomes.

HHSC: COVID Vaccine Documentation Can’t Be Required for Medicaid Treatment - 09/29/2021

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is notifying practitioners who see Medicaid patients that those patients can’t be required to provide documentation of their COVID-19 vaccination status as a condition of receiving services under Texas Medicaid.

FDA Delays Decision on the Sale of Juul, Other Popular Vaping Products - 09/29/2021

Texas physicians should be disappointed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently postponed a long-awaited decision on whether products by Juul – which make up 40% of the e-cigarette market – should remain in the hands of consumers, says Pasadena pediatrician Lindy McGee, MD.

Texas Debuts Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Ordering System - 09/28/2021

After the federal government abruptly announced it would start distributing monoclonal antibody drugs through states on a weekly basis due to a substantial surge in demand, state health departments had to quickly set up their own allocation systems.

Biden Vaccine Mandate Plan Mostly Excludes Small Medical Practices - 09/28/2021

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden introduced a six-point plan that mandates COVID-19 vaccines for millions of Americans. Many details of the plan are still being developed as specific regulations are written, but at least one aspect of the plan is clear: The vaccination mandate for “over 17 million health care workers at Medicare and Medicaid-participating hospitals and other health care settings,” largely does not apply to small physician practices, according to Texas Medical Association analysis.

Physicians Testify on COVID-19 Impact on Children’s Physical and Mental Health - 09/27/2021

Children and adolescents face myriad physical and mental health risks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to physicians and other health experts who testified before a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee last week.

Feds Adjust Monoclonal Antibody Distribution System - 09/21/2021

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday it would start distributing monoclonal antibody drugs to states on a weekly basis, effective immediately. State health departments will be responsible for distributing their allocation to individual sites each week.

ACIP Flu Guidelines: Vaccinate Young Children as Soon as Possible - 09/21/2021

When it comes to preventing influenza, particularly in the middle of a pandemic, the key takeaway among this year’s recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) involves vaccines and timing, says Alan Howell, MD, an infectious disease specialist in Temple and a member of the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Infectious Diseases.

TMA White Paper: How to Prohibit Handguns on Private Property - 09/21/2021

Texas’ public handgun-carrying policies – and the rights of certain businesses and private property owners to prohibit the carrying of handguns – have garnered a great deal of legislative and media attention over the past several years, most recently with the Texas Legislature’s passage of permitless carry legislation earlier this year.

For Five Decades, Texas Physicians Have Helped Care for Physicians - 09/20/2021

Since 1961, the Texas Medical Association’s Physicians Benevolent Fund has provided assistance to Texas physicians and their families who have fallen on hard times because of poverty, sickness, disability, accident, or other circumstances. Beginning this year, the newly established PBF Wellness Fund is available for qualified physicians who cannot afford treatment for depression, substance-abuse disorders, or other impairments.

TMA Insurance Trust Provides Financial Help for Struggling Physicians - 09/20/2021

The Texas Medical Association’s Physicians Benevolent Fund will be able to provide even more support to physicians who have fallen on hard times thanks to a $15,000 gift from TMA Insurance Trust (TMAIT).

Physicians Benevolent Fund Supports Physicians in Need - 09/20/2021

The Physicians Benevolent Fund helps support physicians and their immediate families who fall on desperate financial times or who are in treatment, perhaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or because of other circumstances. TMA family members can support PBF in two ways.

TMA Fund Offers Assistance for Substance Abuse Treatment - 09/20/2021

If you or a colleague is struggling with alcohol or any other substance abuse disorder and needs treatment, TMA's Physicians Benevolent Wellness Fund is here to provide financial assistance for qualified physicians and their immediate families.