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CDC Revises Opioid Guidelines in the Wake of Confusion, Overreaction - 11/29/2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued revised guidelines to help safely prescribe opioids, and one of the reasons, the agency freely admits, is to clear up confusion caused by its last set of guidelines issued in 2016.

Physicians Urge Texans to Safely Return Unused Prescription Medication - 10/27/2022

Texas physicians recommend people with unused or expired prescription drugs at home dispose of them safely this weekend, so they are not accidently consumed. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is organizing its biannual prescription drug Take Back Day on Saturday, Oct. 29. Prescription drugs can be returned anonymously at pop up locations across the state.

Help Promote National Drug Prescription Take Back Day on Oct. 29 - 10/26/2022

Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which allows people to dispose of prescription drugs safely and anonymously, is scheduled for Oct. 26 at locations throughout the state.

UPDATE: TMA Sues Feds – Again – Over Unfair Arbitration Process Under Federal Surprise Billing Rule - 10/21/2022

The Texas Medical Association is back in court – again – to hold federal regulators accountable for implementing a key piece of the No Surprises Act as Congress intended it: to operate an arbitration process that does not skew the dispute resolution process in favor of health plans.

Risk Management - 10/11/2022

Practice e-Tips on Risk Management

Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics - 10/11/2022

TMA Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics

Despite Deadline, New Prescription Forms Still Not Received - 10/08/2022

Many Texas physicians are now unable to write prescriptions for certain pain medications because of ongoing problems when ordering the state’s new prescription forms. As of June 1, all Schedule II prescription forms ordered before Sept. 1, 2018, were no longer valid. However, many Texas physicians have told the Texas Medical Association they are still awaiting the new forms.

“Rainbow” Fentanyl-Related Overdoses Among Youth Trigger DEA, DSHS Warnings - 09/29/2022

In the wake of a series of overdoses and deaths in Hays County, Texas public health and federal law enforcement agencies have released advisories about multicolored or “rainbow” fentanyl.

Combating Opioid-Related Deaths Requires New Approach, TMA Tells Lawmakers - 09/19/2022

In order to address a surge in deaths tied to synthetic opioids, Texas must take a comprehensive approach that includes revamping state regulations related to pain management clinics and prescription monitoring, and expanding mental health treatment, Mesquite pain management specialist C.M. Schade, MD, told members of the Texas House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Health.

Overdose Deaths Persist Despite Physician Efforts to Reduce Opioid Prescribing, per AMA Report - 09/12/2022

Even as deaths from illicit drugs like fentanyl are rising, a new American Medical Association report shows a 45% decrease in opioid prescribing over the past decade in Texas.

Graphic Warnings on Cigarette Packs Face Ongoing Legal Challenge - 09/09/2022

A court order – once again – has upheld enforcement of the Food and Drug Administration’s rule that cigarette packs must contain more colorful and graphic health warnings. The new deadline for implementing the rule, per the court order, is Oct. 6, 2023.

Pay Now or Pay Later? Supreme Court Adds Clarity Around Negligence Awards - 07/29/2022

Case by case, courts are clarifying a piece of Texas’ tort reform law that’s meant to keep physicians from paying part of a medical negligence award in one prohibitive and devastating gulp.

“Black Robes, Not White Coats”: Can Courts Compel Unproven Treatments? - 06/29/2022

COVID-19 patients and their families have involved judges and attorneys in an effort to compel physicians to treat the disease in unproven ways, against their medical judgment. And in some cases around the country, patients’ families have been successful in getting a court order to do so. The Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Patient-Physician Advocacy, while not directly involved in such cases, has a keen interest in making sure physicians can exercise their medical judgment.

Contract Do’s and Don’ts: How to Negotiate From a Place of Strength - 06/29/2022

By leaning on Texas Medical Association resources and their own health care attorney, physicians can gain confidence and better negotiate favorable terms to secure their economic success.

How to Start a Medical-Legal Partnership - 06/29/2022

Medical entities can join forces with legal entities to form medical-legal partnerships (MLPs), and these partnerships are helpful for patients whose conditions are worsened by social determinants of health.

Picking the Right Battles: TMA Stands Up for Medicine in the Courts - 06/29/2022

When a big point of legal contention arises – “big” meaning impactful for Texas physicians and their patients – the Texas Medical Association responds big. That’s been the case for decades, including in the courts. 

Supreme Court Sides With Physician’s Push to Clear National Practitioner Data Bank Record - 06/14/2022

In a major victory for medicine, a Texas Supreme Court decision has paved the way for physicians exonerated of wrongdoing to fully clear their names in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), the federal clearinghouse that records certain adverse or disciplinary actions taken against health care workers.

Dulling the Pain of Future Damages: High Court Ruling Addresses Periodic Payments - 05/31/2022

Texas Supreme Court decision carries new implications for periodic payment of future medical expenses.

Surgeon’s Multimillion-Dollar Defamation Award Tossed by Texas Supreme Court - 05/16/2022

The Texas Supreme Court has nullified a $6.4 million jury verdict for a Houston cardiothoracic surgeon in his lawsuit alleging defamation and business disparagement by Memorial Hermann Hospital System.    

AMA Honors TMA Attorney With Lifetime Achievement Award - 05/04/2022

The American Medical Association (AMA) has honored Donald P. “Rocky” Wilcox, vice president and general counsel of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession.

Legal Legacies: TMA General Counsel Rocky Wilcox Retires After 42 Years of Service - 05/01/2022

After nearly five decades of service to organized medicine, Rocky Wilcox, the man behind TMA’s storied history of advocating for physicians and their patients through the legal and legislative systems is retiring. But the legacy he leaves behind has put physicians in Texas – even across the nation – on solid legal ground.

Texas Secures More Than $1 Billion as Part of Opioid Settlement - 04/05/2022

Texas is receiving more than $1 billion in a settlement agreement with three major pharmaceutical distributors over the national opioid epidemic, which will be used for prevention, education, and medication-assisted treatment.

Federal Grants Available to Help Expand Opioid Use Disorder Treatment - 04/04/2022

Federal health authorities have opened up applications for more than $25 million in grants to expand access to medication-assisted treatment and prevent prescription drug misuse.

Investigations of Gender-Affirming Care Halted Again by Appeals Court - 03/24/2022

The latest court order in the battle over gender-affirming care in Texas has once again blocked the state from investigating that care as child abuse.

TMA Supports Evidence-Based Gender-Affirming Care in Lawsuit - 03/14/2022

As the Doe v. Abbott lawsuit heads to a hearing today over whether to block state investigations involving certain care provided to transgender youth, among other issues, the Texas Medical Association has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in support of medically necessary, gender-affirming care, and opposing the criminalization of such treatment.