Related Stories

Help Patients Make Wise Choices About Treatment Options - 07/20/2023

Tools are emerging to help physicians overcome the time constraints that can preempt discussions with patients.

Quality Improvement: Practice Awards and Free Webinars - 07/20/2023

TMA, the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association (TOMA), and the TMF Health Quality Institute are collaborating again to provide the Physician Practice Quality Improvement Award program. The award formally recognizes physician practices for their dedication and commitment to providing high-quality patient care and improving outcomes.

Driving the Quality Train: TMA Physicians Lead the Way, From Measures to Standardization - 07/10/2023

In a proactive effort to resolve physician complaints, TMA and its members are deeply involved in quality issues, from participating in the development of new measures to pushing payers for standardized quality programs and supporting physicians who are curious about value-based care.

Texas Physicians Push to Improve Health Care for LGBTQ Patients - 06/28/2023

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) patients face unique barriers that put them at greater risk for mental and physical health problems. Often, their health disparities result from a lack of family support, public prejudice, and fear of the health care system. Texas physicians have launched a new workgroup and are adapting their practices to treat this underserved population.

TMF Offers Resources to Navigate CMS Requirements - 05/16/2023

TMF has launched three physician-focused networks designed to save time, improve patient care, and reduce costs associated with meeting these requirements. These programs, focused on immunizations, behavioral health and value-based improvements, are designed to help physicians benefit from—and not be penalized by—these mandates.

Notice to Patients on the Departure of a Physician - 10/07/2022

When a physician departs a group, the practice should consider the issue of continuity of care for patients. The Texas Medical Board (TMB), in an attempt to address this, adopted regulations that must be followed whenever a physician leaves a group. This applies to physicians who are partners, members, or employees of the group.

Biden Administration to Launch Specialty Payment Model - 07/27/2022

A new, voluntary Medicare payment model option focused on cancer care opens the value-based care door wider for specialists at a time when such models have been limited.

Ten Tips for Effective Voice-Mail Messages - 09/23/2021

Voice mail is a great tool, but it can waste time and cause frustration if you don’t use it wisely. Follow these tips for leaving effective voice-mail messages every time.

Leading Innovation: Physician Entrepreneur Develops App to Engage Patients - 02/27/2021

In 2015, Austin cardiologist Manish Chauhan, MD, decided to finally act on an idea he’d been knocking around for a while – something to fill a void he’d witnessed when it came to engaging patients in their care.

The Customer Is Always Right? Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Have Fans and Detractors - 01/26/2021

For too long, some doctors say measures of a physician’s quality of care have been about process: the average length of a patient stay, for example, or a patient’s readmission rate. The bottom line is results, and that’s why a shift to patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures is necessary. However, even proponents of PRO measures note that collecting the information from patients for those metrics places burdens on physicians, and some remain skeptical of bonuses and penalties tied to a measure that derives from a subjective factor: what patients think.

Troubling Trend: Texas’ 2018 QPP Data Contains More Bad Signs - 01/05/2021

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continues to churn out glowing data annually on its Quality Payment Program (QPP), a full picture of the program’s impact eludes the agency’s reporting. According to the Texas Medical Association’s analysis of state-level data in the 2018 QPP Experience Report, it’s clear that small practices continue to feel most of the program’s punitive pressures.

TMA Calls Governor’s Plan “Prudent and Careful” - 04/27/2020

Statement by Texas Medical Association (TMA) President David C. Fleeger, MD, in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that Texas hospitals now need to reserve only 15% of their capacity for COVID-19 patients.

Help Medicaid Patients Keep Appointments With Free Rides - 12/11/2019

If your Medicaid patient has trouble keeping his or her appointments with your office due to lack of transportation or gas money, be sure the patient knows how to seek help from Medicaid.

Quality Care Pilot Takes Flight - 09/03/2019

How one children's clinic uses a targeted program to dramatically improve care, lower costs.

Faulty Guidelines - 06/03/2019

Former Texas Medical Association President Josie Williams, MD, was tenacious in advocating that organized medicine pay zealous attention to two topics: data and guidelines. In this, she was both sage and prescient. We have done well in following her recommendations on data, but we continue to fall far short of where we need to be on guidelines.

Tips on How to Report Data on Quality Measures for MACRA - 04/19/2018

Tips from TMA to help you determine which reporting mechanism will best fit your practice for the first Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance period in 2017.

Tell Your Patients What They Want to Know - 04/19/2018

Patients want their doctor to provide health-related information and often feel they are not getting enough information. Choosing Wisely® can help you bridge the gap with guidelines from medical specialty societies.

Getting Patients to Take Their Meds - 04/19/2018

Patients need to take the medicines you prescribe so they can get well or feel better. New payment models reward you when they do. Here are some tips for helping patients stay with their medication regimen.

Six Ways to Increase Practice Portal Sign-Ups - 04/19/2018

Many Texas practices have a patient portal but report that patients are not signing up to use it. Here are some tips that have worked for other practices around the country.

Use These Four Steps With Irate Patients - 12/19/2016

When faced with a highly emotional patient, your first task is to lower the emotional level of the patient so you can negotiate a reasonable solution. Use these four steps to accomplish that.

How to Apologize Like You Mean It - 11/15/2016

Everybody makes mistakes. Physicians — even the best, most well-intentioned ones — make mistakes. Regardless of the nature of the mistake, you must take steps to correct it, and that includes apologizing. But it’s important to do it right, or you may make matters worse.

Avoid the Jargon - 06/23/2016

A dictionary tool from the University of Michigan suggests plain-language alternatives to both medical and nonmedical words you might often use in your practice.