As the Texas Medical Association told you Monday, personal protective equipment (PPE) will begin to move more quickly from state-managed warehouses to Texas county medical societies
and on to private practice, community care physicians. Now, TMA has opened a PPE Portal for practices to submit their PPE needs.
The movement of PPE, including N95 masks, is possible through an extensive collaboration among TMA, county medical societies, and a host of other associations and state agencies
To ensure each practice submits only one set of data to the PPE Portal, not all Texas physicians have received personalized login credentials. If you did not receive the credentials via email, check with your practice manager or the lead physician in
your practice. Practices with multiple locations are considered a single practice. If it appears that no physician at your practice received the credentials, please contact the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 or by Email.
The TMA PPE Portal contains a needs assessment form for your practice. The form asks you to report your daily use of N95 masks, surgical masks, gloves, gowns, face shields, booties, and sanitizer. Find more information, including who can request PPE through
the portal, how much it will cost (spoiler alert: it’s free), quality control, and how to identify your Regional Advisory Council (RAC), in TMA’s latest PPE frequently asked questions (FAQ)
document.
Remember that the portal is not a PPE order form. The Hospital Preparedness Programs (HPPs) and RACs will use the data to allocate a share of available PPE to county medical societies. The county societies will use the data and guidelines developed by a TMA work group to distribute PPE to community physicians.
“The RACs and HPPs are all independent organizations, and all operate differently. Thanks to the strong support of Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, everyone is working much better to meet the PPE needs of community physicians,”
TMA President David C. Fleeger, MD, said. “We very much appreciate the assistance of Chief Kidd and the RACs.”
You can also find the latest news, resources, and government guidance on the coronavirus outbreak by visiting TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center regularly.