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2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: Life of the Mother Act Provides Clarity Around Medical Emergency Exception for Pregnant Patients - 08/29/2025

TMA was heavily involved in advocating and refining Senate Bill 31, the Life of the Mother Act, to bring much-needed clarity to physicians regarding the medical emergency exception to the state's abortion prohibition.

2025 Legislative Wrap-Up: Measles Outbreak and E-Cigarettes Shape Session Debates - 08/27/2025

As the 2025 legislative session got underway, the largest measles outbreak in Texas since 2000 dominated the headlines. So, when TMA physicians advocated for vaccination, legislators were more cognizant of the stakes involved than in previous sessions.   “Some

West Nile Virus Begins to Percolate in Texas - 08/18/2025

Locally contracted and travel-acquired mosquito-borne viruses have begun their annual ascent. Proactive personal protection and public health measures mitigate the risk.

New Tool Alerts Physicians, Patients to Dangerous Heat Levels, Related Risks - 08/15/2025

For patients at greater risk, health-related heat impacts can stack up on 100-plus degree days. A new resource, localized by ZIP code, aims to simplify gauging the hazards of a given summer day and includes clinician guidance.

New TMA Policy Sparked by Physician’s Commitment to Sleep Health - 08/12/2025

TMA’s obstructive sleep apnea policy, adopted at TexMed 2025 and rooted in a physician’s desire to bolster maternal health, extends the reach of its author’s recommendation for universal screening. A sleep questionnaire can help physicians align their practice with the policy.

'The Canary in the Coal Mine': Wastewater Testing Advances Improve Physician and Public Readiness for Outbreaks - 08/08/2025

Houston is home to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System of Excellence.

Division of Population Health and Medical Education - 08/04/2025

The Division of Population Health and Medical Education focuses on public health, scientific, and patient safety issues throughout the state, emphasizing areas in which high-quality medical care and scientific expertise can benefit all Texans. In addition the division maintains close relationships with academic medicine and monitors physician workforce trends.

Budgetary Boost to Prehospital Whole Blood Access in Texas Stands to Save Lives - 07/29/2025

Texas’ Whole Blood Task Force will receive more than double its requested appropriation, supporting more emergency units in administering lifesaving prehospital whole blood to trauma patients, obstetrical patients, and patients with gastrointestinal bleeding.

What’s Better, Immunity From a Shot, or From the Disease? - 07/21/2025

Although suffering through a disease sometimes gives you immunity from catching that same disease later in life, vaccinating against diseases instead is the safest way to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Texas Physicians Explain Herd Immunity Needed to Fight Contagious-Disease Hotspots - 07/21/2025

A community with enough vaccinated people can protect each other from the spread of contagious disease. Herd immunity – also known as community immunity – protects those who are not immune and those who cannot or choose not to get vaccinated.

Contaminant Containment: Countering Foodborne Illness Outbreaks Takes Physician Awareness and Prompt Reporting - 06/26/2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates each year some 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness, more than 127,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

The Essence of Outreach: TMA Health Beat Broadens Its Audience to Advocate More Effectively for Physicians - 06/23/2025

Louise Bethea, MD, sometimes encounters resistance in persuading her patients with asthma to adhere to their daily medication regimen. It’s a problem she attributes, in part, to low health care literacy.

U.S., Texas Child Flu Deaths Increase Amid a Grim Season - 06/04/2025

Texas has recorded 15 pediatric flu deaths so far for the 2024-2025 flu season. That number is significantly higher than last year, when no child deaths associated with flu occurred in the state. Physicians continue to advocate immunization as the best defense.

Texas Exceeds Latest Recommendations to Quell Syphilis - 05/29/2025

Texas’ mandated screenings for syphilis during pregnancy align with and surpass recently reaffirmed guidance from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The state’s numbers continue to climb, but at a lower rate. Physicians can earn CME or attend in-person or virtual meetings coordinated by the state to keep apprised.

Delivering Collaboration: Can Birthing Centers Help Ease Texas’ Maternal Deserts? - 05/05/2025

G. Sealy Massingill, MD, knows well the wildly unpredictable nature of birth. The consultant on TMA’s Committee on Reproductive, Women’s, and Perinatal Health has attended the deliveries of thousands of infants and wouldn’t dare to presume that any apparently healthy patient labors unencumbered by risk.

Whooping Cough Spikes in Texas Among Measles Outbreak - 04/30/2025

The Texas Department of State Health Services so far has reported 1,060 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, outpacing the rate seen in 2024. Tdap and DTaP immunizations are crucial, including for pregnant mothers.

Whooping Cough Cases Far Outpacing Last Year’s as Measles Illnesses Continue to Spread - 04/30/2025

Amid the worst measles outbreak Texas has seen in over 30 years; pertussis cases are spiking as well. Through mid-April, 1,060 cases of pertussis occurred in the state, while 1,928 cases were reported in all of 2024, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) - 04/09/2025

The impact of adverse childhood events (ACEs) can be lasting and costly on patient health and medical outcomes. In the United States, more than 20% of adults report experiencing three ACEs during their youth, potentially increasing the risk of negative, chronic health consequences and challenges such as alcoholism, depression, unemployment, heart disease and substance abuse, among many others.

Earn CME and Hear Practical Measles Guidance as Outbreak Expands - 03/21/2025

As the West Texas outbreak shows little sign of slowing, TMA and DSHS present an update and strategies for combating measles in a CME-qualifying webinar.

Measles Outbreak Hits 124 Cases, One Death; Exposed Unvaccinated People Urged to Get Vaccinated - 02/26/2025

As measles cases continue to spread in and around Gaines County in West Texas, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said one unvaccinated child has died of the highly contagious disease. The number of measles cases has grown to 124 people as of Feb. 25, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated. DSHS urges any unvaccinated person who was exposed to measles to get vaccinated quickly.

Physicians Ask Lawmakers to Make Social Media Safer for Children, Prevent Data Mining - 02/03/2025

The Texas Medical Association and Texas Pediatric Society told a committee of the Texas Legislature about the importance of developing policies that promote healthy technology use for young people and restrict data mining of minors’ information.

Doctor’s Orders to ‘Eat Healthy’ Bolstered by Updated FDA Metrics - 01/23/2025

The Food and Drug Administration’s new approach to deeming foods healthy affirms nutrition science and longstanding TMA policy. While serious obstacles to healthful eating remain, the new guidelines may provide a way to discuss dietary principles like portion sizes and balanced eating with patients.

Advancing Health Equity: Karen Batory’s 35-year TMA Career Shaped Public Health for the Association - 01/20/2025

Karen Batory’s extensive, 35-year career at TMA shaped public health for both the association and the state

Enhancing Awareness: Physicians Can Help Dispel Myths to Ease the Syphilis Epidemic - 01/08/2025

Physicians can help dispel myths to ease the syphilis epidemic in Texas.

Physicians: Carbon Monoxide Exposure Can be Deadly, Cause Permanent Organ Damage - 12/17/2024

More than a million people are still without power in Houston and Southeast Texas after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas Gulf Coast on Monday, but their temporary solution could harm them. As people without electricity turn to alternate energy resources, physicians are reminding Texans about the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure.