NewScope

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NEWS BRIEFING FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
August 22, 2008

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on."        --Robert Frost
 
"A man shall never be enriched by envy."              -Thomas Dreier
 
IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
GOOD NEWS FOR PRIMARY CARE?
NEW LAW PROMOTES FREE MARRIAGE EDUCATION CLASSES
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CAUSES PEOPLE TO CUT BACK ON HEALTH CARE
SURVEY:  MANY HISPANICS DON'T GET ROUTINE HEALTH CARE
ON RURAL DOCTORING:  THE LANDSCAPE
NEW TOBACCO DEPENDENCE GUIDELINES RELEASED
SOME WALK-IN CLINICS CLOSING AFTER BOOM
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEALTH IN A HURRICANE
HPV VACCINE DEEMED SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, DESPITE REPORTS OF ADVERSE EVENTS
"LAUGH AS MUCH AS YOU BREATHE AND LOVE AS LONG AS YOU LIVE." 

ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS:

District 7        Thursday, August 21st, 6:30 p.m.
                    Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
                    320 East 2nd Street
                    Austin, TX

 
District 8        Thursday, Aug. 28th, 6:30 p.m.
                    Utopia World Cuisine
                    Corpus Christi, TX

District 5        Thursday, Aug. 28th, 6:30 p.m.
                    Three Forks
                    17776 Dallas Parkway
                    Dallas, TX  75287

District 10      Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 27-28th
                    Inn of the Mountain Gods
                    Riudosa, New Mexico
                    (Contact Pat Hanford, DO, for details)

August 23      HealthFind (to match rural communities with physicians and future

                       physicians)
                   Hotel Intercontinental, Dallas, TX
                   For more info or to register:  www.torchnet.org/calendar.html

Labor Day        Monday, September 1, 2008
September       Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

GOOD NEWS FOR PRIMARY CARE?
Elyas Bakhtiari, Managing Editor

It seems that all we hear about primary care these days are dire warnings about low reimbursement and physician shortages, so I want to start out with some good news for a change: Compensation for primary care physicians increased nearly three times as much in 2007 as it did in 2006, and it outpaced compensation increases for specialists (combined) for the second straight year. That sounds great, but there are some caveats. [Read More]
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/216994/topic/WS_HLM2_PHY/Good-News-for-Primary-Care.html

From:  HealthLeaders Media PhysicianLeaders, HEALTHLEADERSMEDIA, www.healthleadersmedia.com

NEW LAW PROMOTES FREE MARRIAGE EDUCATION CLASSES  

AUSTIN - The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is spreading the word about a new state law, which takes effect Sept. 1, that encourages couples to attend free marriage education classes. House Bill 2685 increases the marriage license fee to $60. However, the fee will be waived for couples who complete an eight-hour premarital class, and those couples can forgo the 72-hour waiting period to get married. Counties may continue to charge up to $12 in local fees for a marriage license.
http://www.hhs.state.tx.us/news/release/081908_MarriageEducation.shtml

SENATE RACE OFFERS HEALTH CARE PERSPECTIVES

John Cornyn: A record of health care reform
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-cornyn_20edi.ART.State.Edition1.4d59ebd.html

Rick Noriega: How to repair broken health care system
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-noriega_20edi.ART.State.Edition1.4d89f5f.html

From:  Texas Weekly News Clips, by Printing Production Systems, Inc., www.texasweekly.com

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN CAUSES PEOPLE TO CUT BACK ON HEALTH CARE

A survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners shows 22% of respondents have cut back on the number of times they see a medical provider in an effort to save money. The tight U.S. economy also caused 11% to reduce the number of prescription medications they take or lessen the dosage so the prescription lasts longer. San Francisco Chronicle (8/13)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/13/BUSL129L0L.DTL&hw=colliver&sn=001&sc=1000

From:  SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc.®, www.smartbrief.com

SURVEY:  MANY HISPANICS DON'T GET ROUTINE HEALTH CARE
 
A survey finds 27% of Hispanics do not regularly see a medical provider even though many have health insurance and most are bilingual. The Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study also shows 64% of Hispanics changed their diet or exercise habits because of health information they got from the media. Experts said health care practitioners need to continue to reach out to the Hispanic community. The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) (8/13)  http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10186071?nclick_check=1

From:  SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc.®, www.smartbrief.com

ON RURAL DOCTORING:  THE LANDSCAPE
By Theresa Chan
August 20, 2008

This is the first part of a series that first appeared on the blog Rural Doctoring, where Theresa Chan writes about her experience working as a family physician and hospitalist in a rural Northern California community.
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/08/becoming-a-rura.html#more

From:  The Health Care Blog, http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/

NEW TOBACCO DEPENDENCE GUIDELINES RELEASED  
 
The United States Public Health Service has released Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update, a new guideline that contains strategies and recommendations to aid smoking cessation. The guidelines, available at www.ahrq.gov/path/tobacco.htm, are the first update to recommendations since 2000. They bring attention to several effective treatment options for tobacco dependence, including:
      · Group and individual counseling sessions.
      · Use of medications for a successful cessation attempt.
      · The need to integrate smoking cessation strategies into all healthcare systems.
      The goal of the guidelines is to impact the likelihood that smokers will receive effective treatment and successfully quit smoking.
www.ahrq.gov/path/tobacco.htm

From: Physician's Weekly, Physician's Weekly, LLC, www.physweekly.com

SOME WALK-IN CLINICS CLOSING AFTER BOOM

 
The rush to build convenient walk-in clinics in recent years may have caught up with itself. Now with building of new ones leveling off and others closing, the question becomes what is the ultimate demand for this type of care. It will be curious to track this sector over the next year or so to see if the concept simply expanded too fast, or if the idea of seeing a nurse practitioner or similar caregiver is not what consumers really want.
[Read More] http://www.startribune.com/business/26850829.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUJ

From:  HealthLeaders Media Corner Office, of HealthLeaders Media, www.healthleadersmedia.com

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEALTH IN A HURRICANE
Not prepared for the 2008 hurricane season?

That's not a huge surprise. After all, it's been a few years since the Atlantic endured its most active hurricane season in history--thanks to the deadly Katrina and Rita--and only one hurricane made landfall in the U.S. last year. As time passes, we tend to become complacent about the threat of stormy weather and the health risks that come with it.

"People feel like they've been through it before and know how to deal with it," says Dr. Jeff Kalina, associate director of emergency medicine at the Methodist Hospital in Houston and medical chairman of the Texas Medical Center's disaster response committee. "But they always make the same mistakes."
http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/14/hurricane-health-preparations-forbeslife-cx_avd_0814health.html?partner=forbeslife_newsletter

From:  FORBES.COM FORBESLIFE NEWSLETTER, www.forbesdigital.com, www.forbes.net

HPV VACCINE DEEMED SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, DESPITE REPORTS OF ADVERSE EVENTS

Questions over the safety of the human papillomavirus vaccine have been raised by consumers, parents, healthcare professionals, and others. But having analyzed the available data, the CDC and FDA offer reassurance.
Medscape Medical News 2008
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/578110?src=mp&spon=21&uac=9837HV

From:  Medscape Business of Medicine MedPulse®, www.mp.medscape.com

"LAUGH AS MUCH AS YOU BREATHE AND LOVE AS LONG AS YOU LIVE." 

To many girls the word 'marriage' has a nice ring to it.

The day after tomorrow is the third day of the rest of your life.       George Carlin

"My advice if you insist on slimming:  Eat as much as you like - just don't swallow it."          Harry Secombe

Texas figures of speech:  TIGHTER THAN BARK ON A TREE  (Not very generous); BIG HAT, NO CATTLE  (All talk and no action); THIS AIN'T MY FIRST RODEO 
(I've been around awhile.)

You know it's time to reform the health care system when you get a bill for watching "Dr. Phil."
 
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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