Robert "Sam" Tessen, Executive Director
NewScope
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NEWS BRIEFING
FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
June 6, 2008
Robert "Sam" Tessen, Executive Director
"The best
things in life aren't things." --Art Buchwald
All we are
given is possibilities -- to make ourselves one thing or another." Jose
Ortega y Gasset
"The measure
of life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation." Corrie ten Boom
"Life is 10%
of what happens to you, and 90% of how you respond to it."
IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD HOST TOWN HALL MEETINGS
MONTHLY UPDATES TP OFFICIAL DISABILITY GUIDELINES - TREATMENT IN WORKERS' COMP
LIST SYSTEM TO SPEED UP MEDICAL LICENSE APPLICATIONS
STUDY: PATIENTS' PERCEPTION OF CARE NOT ALWAYS LINKED TO SPENDING
RESULTS OF FIRST DAY OF MEDICARE N.P.I. REQUIREMENT
WEB CAN SICKEN DOCTORS' CAREERS
HOUSTON, N.J. APPEALS COURTS SIDE WITH MERCK IN VIOXX SUITS
TOP HEALTH INSURERS WHEN IT COMES TO PAYING
DON'T MAKE A HASTY DECISION WHEN SELECTING AN E.H.R. VENDOR
FDA: ASTHMA PATIENTS SHOULD SWITCH INHALERS BEFORE BAN
HUMOR IS THE ARM OF RELAXATION AROUND OUR SHOULDER.
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT
MEETINGS:
District
9 Thursday, June 5th, 6:30 p.m.
Olde Victoria Restaurant at the Oak Room
101 W. Goodwin Street
Victoria, TX
District 6 Tuesday, June 10th, 6:30 p.m.
Churrascos
2055 Westheimer #180
Houston, TX 77098 (River Oaks Area)
District 3 Friday, June 13th, 6:30 p.m.
Ricks's On The Square
104 W. Erwin St.
Tyler, TX 75702
District
7 Friday, August 8th
Reception and Mixer to welcome incoming residents
TOMA building, 1415 Lavaca
Austin, TX
District 7 Thursday, August 21st
June 19-22, 2008 Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX
Register ON-LINE at
www.txosteo.org
or www.txacofp.org
Aug. 9-10,
2008 "Ligamentous Articular Strain Techniques" Basic Course
presented by the Dallas Osteopathic Study Group
Doubletree Hotel-Campbell Centre, Dallas, TX 75206
Contact: Conrad Speece, D.O. course director
214-321-2673 cjspeece@yahoo.com
August 9-10, 2008
CME: 16 hours OMM category 1-A anticipated from AOA
National
Men's Health Week June 9 - 15, 2008
Father's Day June 15, 2008
TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD HOST TOWN HALL
MEETINGS
The Texas
Medical Board (TMB) will take to the road this summer to host a series of Town
Hall meetings in communities across the state to meet with medical professionals
and the public to gather input and feedback about regulation of the medical
profession.
In conjunction with the Town Hall meetings, TMB also will offer in-depth
seminars for entities that recruit or credential physicians to assist those
entities in streamlining the application process for their applicants and to
minimize application errors.
Each meeting will consist of two parts over two days. The Town Hall meeting will
be conducted first, at 7 p.m. on the evening of the first day and the three-hour
licensing seminar will be offered on the morning of the second day. All
interested parties are invited to participate in either or both sessions.
June 9 and
10 - Brownsville - Both sessions will be conducted at the Brownsville Event
Center, 1 Event Center Boulevard. The Town Hall meeting will be at 7 p.m. on
June 9 and the licensing seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 10.
June 17 and
18 - Midland - Both sessions will be conducted at the Center for Energy and
Economic Diversification, 1400 N. FM 1788. The Town Hall meeting will begin at 7
p.m. on June 17 and the licensing seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 18.
June 23 and
24 - Austin - The Town Hall meeting will be at 7 p.m. on June 23rd in the
Thompson Auditorium at the Texas Medical Association offices, 401 W. 15th St.
The licensing seminar will begin at 11 a.m. on June 24 in Room 100 in the lobby
area of the William P. Hobby Jr. State Office Building, 333 Guadalupe Street.
July 1 and 2
- Fort Worth, Both sessions will be conducted at the University of North Texas
Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard. The sessions will be conducted
in Luibel Hall on the second floor of the EAD building, which is at the corner
of Montgomery and Camp Bowie. The Town Hall meeting will begin at 7 p.m. July 1.
The licensing seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. on July 2.
July 8 and 9
- Bryan/College Station - Both sessions will be conducted in Lecture Hall 1 on
the first floor of the Joe Reynolds Medical Building at Texas A&M University, at
the southwest corner of University Drive and Olsen Boulevard. The Town Hall
meeting will be at 7 p.m. on July 8 and the licensing seminar will begin at 8:30
a.m. on July 9.
MONTHLY UPDATES TP OFFICIAL
DISABILITY GUIDELINES - TREATMENT IN WORKERS' COMP
The Texas
Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) and the
Work Loss Data Institute, publishers of the Official Disability Guidelines -
Treatment in Workers' Comp (ODG), have partnered to produce a monthly update to
inform system participants of changes that have occurred in the online version
of the ODG during the preceding month.
A memo discussing the monthly updates to ODG is posted at the following link:
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/dm/documents/odgmemo0608.pdf
LIST SYSTEM TO SPEED UP MEDICAL
LICENSE APPLICATIONS
New System
Allows Applicants to Track Status, Communicate with TMB
It just got
a little easier for a doctor to be licensed in Texas.
On June 1, the Texas Medical Board implemented the Licensure Inquiry System of
Texas, an online license application tracking system that promises to reduce the
time required to process and issue physician licenses in Texas. A public/private
partnership, LIST was funded by a grant from the Texas Hospital Association.
The LIST
application uses existing technology in an innovative manner, and is designed
for ease of use by applicants and TMB staff alike. It allows applicants to track
the status of their physician licensure applications online 24 hours a day
without requiring the assistance of TMB staff, including providing detailed
explanations of any missing items needed to process the application. LIST allows
applicants to communicate with TMB from anywhere in the world with internet
access. The system also creates an easily accessible archive of all such
communication between TMB and the applicant.
LIST also
allows TMB to broadcast to all applicants in the event that changes in statute
or TMB rules modify requirements for licensure.
STUDY: PATIENTS' PERCEPTION OF
CARE NOT ALWAYS LINKED TO SPENDING
A survey of
more than 2,500 Medicare beneficiaries shows that in many cases, spending more
money on health care is not related to a patient's perception of the quality of
care they received. Seven of 10 quality-of-care measures considered were not
related to expenditures.
There was a
strong correlation, however, between spending and receiving more medical care.
Yahoo!/HealthDay News (5/27)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080527/hl_hsn/spendingdoesntimprovepatientsperceptionofcare
From:
SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc., www.SmartBrief.com
RESULTS OF FIRST DAY OF MEDICARE
N.P.I. REQUIREMENT
Healthcare industry claims processors and claims-flow watchers report at least
four-fold increases in rejected Medicare claims, similar or even higher
rejection-rate spikes for Medicaid claims, and a doubling of rejection rates for
claims processed by Blues plans on May 23, the first day a federally mandated
National Provider Identifier was required.
from:
Modern Physician Alert, Modern Physician,
www.modernphysician.com.
WEB CAN SICKEN DOCTORS' CAREERS
There have been a lot of articles about online physician ratings recently, but I
found this one particularly interesting because of how it illustrates the
possible negative aspects. After a patient was unhappy with a cosmetic nose
surgery, she filed a complaint against the physician with the state's medical
board and consulted a lawyer about a malpractice suit. She didn't have success
with either of these, so she turned to an online rating Web site and wrote a
negative, but what she deemed honest, review of the doctor. Patients should have
ways for addressing poor care episodes, but it is concerning that patients can
turn to this unregulated outlet when "official" forms of discipline fail. [Read
More]
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-docratings19-2008may19,1,7069951.story
From: HealthLeaders Media PhysicianLeaders, HealthLeaders Media,
www.healthleadersmedia.com
HOUSTON, N.J. APPEALS COURTS SIDE
WITH MERCK IN VIOXX SUITS
Appeals courts in Texas and New Jersey on Thursday overturned verdicts that held
Merck & Co. liable for heart attacks and deaths in patients who took its pain
drug Vioxx. The rulings bolster the merits of entering into a $4.85 billion
settlement program Merck has offered to Vioxx plaintiffs, the drugmaker's
general counsel said. Houston Chronicle (5/29)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5807654.html
From: SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc.®,
www.smartbrief.com
TOP HEALTH INSURERS WHEN IT COMES
TO PAYING
Aetna Inc.
was named the top health insurer in the country when it comes to
paying physician claims quickly and with fewer denials. That's according to a
new
report by Athenahealth Inc., an electronic business services provider for
physicians
and medical groups. Athena based its findings on 2007 financial data from 12,000
medical providers. Cigna Corp. was ranked No. 2, followed by Humana, Medicare,
UnitedHealth and WellPoint. Aetna averaged 27 days to pay doctors' claims,
compared
with 30 days for Humana, 33 days for Cigna, 35 days for UnitedHealth and
36 for WellPoint.
From: Texas Healthflash, HCPro, Inc.,
www.healthleadersmedia.com.
DON'T MAKE A HASTY DECISION WHEN
SELECTING AN E.H.R. VENDOR
Hasty EHR vendor selection can lead to frustration at best or a failed
implementation at worst, says Michael R. Cohen, MM, president of MRC Consulting
Group in St. Charles, IL. Strategy details will vary depending on the type and
size of the buyer, but organizations should follow some general steps when
selecting an EHR vendor, Cohen says.
Review your organization's strategic plans and vision before you begin the
vendor selection process. Determine what you expect from a new system-and be
absolutely certain that you actually need one-before shopping for an EHR, Cohen
says. Review business and clinical strategic plans already in place to ensure
that an EHR will mesh with your organization's established guiding principles.
Click here to learn more about EHR vendor selection:
http://www.hcpro.com/ppv-211138.html
From: EHR Connection, HCPro, Inc.,
www.hcmarketplace.com
FDA: ASTHMA PATIENTS SHOULD SWITCH
INHALERS BEFORE BAN
The FDA said Friday that providers, pharmacists and asthma patients should
consider alternatives to albuterol inhalers that use chlorofluorocarbon
propellants before they are phased out and replaced with hydrofluoroalkane-propellant
versions after Dec. 31. The agency is formulating programs for low-income
patients because the HFA inhalers cost more, and FDA officials are uncertain
when manufacturers can launch a generic version. Reuters (5/30)
http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN3035248520080530
From: SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc.®,
www.smartbrief.com
HUMOR IS THE ARM OF RELAXATION
AROUND OUR SHOULDER.
The Texas State Dish is Chili (officially adopted in 1977). Pat Garrett is
supposed to have said of William Bonney---a.k.a. Billy the Kid: "Anybody that
eats chili can't be all bad."
"I was so
naive as a kid I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing." Johnny Carson
Would
somebody please explain to me those signs that say, "No animals allowed except
for Seeing Eye Dogs?" Who is that sign for? Is it for the dog, or the blind
person?
Did you see
these new minivan ads? All they talk about are cup holders, kiddy seats and
doors. What kind of advertising is that? When you see an ad for a suit, do they
say, "And look at the zipper! Carefully hidden, but easily accessible when you
need it!" I think not.
If you can't
be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
Vanity
Plates seen on a Mercedes Benz in California - WAS HIS
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ADVOCATE DO MEDICAL LIABILITY
COVERAGE FOR DO's
As a TOMA member, you are eligible for the TOMA Preferred Program which offers
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TOMA has partnered with Advocate, DO to bring you competitive rates, free risk
management assessments, in-house legal assistance, aggressive claims management
and a claims-made policy that does not expire. In addition, you will receive
Texas Medical Board coverage with separate limits, no deductible and no out of
pocket expenses! Advocate, DO does not require any surplus charges, TMA or
County Medical Association dues and will provide prior acts coverage.
Take full advantage of your TOMA Preferred Program discounts, call Advocate, DO
today - (800) 686-2734 or visit
www.advocatedo.com.
Advocate, D.O.
Underwritten by Advocate, MD Insurance Company of the Southwest Inc.
800-686-2734 or 512.275.1830
www.advocatedo.com
I hope that this information is helpful. Please feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions on the information in the updates. They are really only as good as the information is useful. So the more useful the information is or can be, the better the updates are.
Respectfully submitted,
Robt. J. "Sam" Tessen
Executive Director
