Zika Panel, Policy Debates to Top TMA Conference

April 27, 2016

• WHAT: An expert Zika panel sharing the latest on this infectious disease threat, a U.S. senator, and policy debates ripped from the headlines top this week's TexMed 2016, the Texas Medical Association's (TMA's) annual conference, in Dallas. Close to 2,000 TMA physician leaders and other health care experts will gather for TexMed, billed this year as "Bridging the Gaps," the largest annual meeting of America's largest state medical society. Policy debates will include guns in mental hospitals, jail suicide prevention, physician assistance in Child Protective Services cases, football helmets and concussions, and items more typical of a physician convention - including balance billing, expanding health care coverage to more Texans, and a stopgap proposal to boost Texas' psychiatric care by using telemedicine.
    
• WHEN: Friday-Saturday, April 29-30 (See details below.) 
    
• WHERE: Hilton Anatole, 2201 N. Stemmons Fwy., Dallas
    
• WHO: TMA member physicians from across Texas, political leaders, and notable speakers in medicine and politics
    
• HIGHLIGHTS:
   
  • Friday, April 29, 2:15 pm - Zika Update Panel Discussion featuring Lisa Cornelius, MD, MPH, infectious disease medical officer, Texas Department of State Health Services; Umair Shah, MD, MPH, executive director, Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services, and member of the Texas Public Health Coalition; and Haydn Parry, CEO, Oxitec. Panelists will provide an update on the Zika virus, the latest clinical guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and prevention strategies, such as vector control.
     
  • Friday, April 29, 3:30 pm - U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas): U.S. Congressional Update - Senator Cornyn will discuss health care topics and the latest news from Washington.
     
  • Friday, April 29, 4:05 pm - Keynote Speaker Marty A. Makary, MD: "Art, Assassination, and America: How Transparency Disrupts an Industry" - How do we reform a broken health care system? Dr. Makary has a strategy for doing so. He will discuss how transparency can revolutionize medical care and improve health care outcomes.
     
  • Saturday, April 30, 8:30 am-noon - House of Delegates policymaking meeting
     
    
    • 9:15 am - Distinguished Service Award Presentation: Joseph P. Annis, MD, an Austin anesthesiologist and former member of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees, receives TMA's highest honor (he is introduced by TMA Past President C. Bruce Malone, MD).
       
    • 10:45 am - Installation of Don. R. Read, MD, of Dallas, as TMA's 151st President 
       
    • Throughout the morning - Policy debate: TMA's House of Delegates will debate and consider adoption of new guidelines for medicine, the association, and Texas. Among the house resolutions up for consideration:
       
      • Urge lawmakers to prohibit visitors and patients from carrying firearms in state psychiatric facilities.
         
      • Tackle the growing problem of surprise bills for patients due to insurance covering less health care and too-narrow health insurance networks of physicians.
         
      • Apply and improve implementation of direct primary care in Texas, following state law passed in 2015. Direct primary care eliminates insurers and allows primary care physicians to work directly with patients.
         
      • Encourage the Texas Medical Board to temporarily permit licensed out-of-state psychiatrists to use telemedicine to care for Texas patients.
         
      • Recommend improved standardized football helmet safety guidelines to reduce concussions.
         
      • Support improved suicide-prevention training among correctional officers, due to the high rate of jail suicides, including high-profile cases within the past year.
         
      • Encourage Child Protective Services (CPS) to enlist physician collaboration in CPS cases.
         
      • Address the health insurance gap in Texas by expanding patients' access to physicians' care.
       
  
  
  • Saturday, April 30, 1:30-2:30 pm - Closing General Session Speaker Mark G. Dotzour, PhD: "Economic Outlook: What's in Your Future?" - Chief economist and leading speaker on economics, Dr. Dotzour will discuss the outlook for 2016's economy and show how one can apply business plans to anticipate future economic conditions.
   

Reporters, please join us at TexMed 2016, or call for interviews on any of the subjects presented during or after the conference, and we'll connect you with a physician expert. If attending in person, call Brent Annear at (512) 656-7320 or Marcus Cooper at (512) 650-5336 upon arrival at the TexMed registration desk for credentialing and help in finding what and whom you need. 

 TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 49,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.