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  • iconCan birthing centers help ease Texas’ maternal deserts? - 2/27/2025 8:21:57 PM

    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 a...

  • iconTMA Women Physicians Section GroupMe - 1/8/2025 9:52:03 PM

    Familiarize yourself with TMA’s Social Media Conduct Policy and complete the consent form acknowledging your agreement. You will experience a slight delay before your admittance — your TMA membership and social media policy a...

  • iconTMA’s Top Legislative Priorities: Improve Women’s Health and Clarify Abortion Exceptions - 1/6/2025 5:16:31 PM

    Priority: Improve funding and supportive services that ensure healthy outcomes for women, mothers, and babies; and get clarity on exceptions to the state’s abortion laws so physicians can safely treat pregnant women in crisis while protecting the pat...

  • iconDSHS Updates Patient Education Resource for Prenatal Practitioners - 12/18/2024 4:23:04 PM

    Physicians can now distribute to patients a comprehensive guide to new parenthood, recently revised and released by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Maternal and Child Health Section. Information for Parents of Newborns, availabl...

  • iconTMA Awards Scholarships for 2024 to 16 Incoming Medical Students - 10/8/2024 3:07:26 PM

    July 22, 2024     Sixteen students entering Texas medical schools this fall are getting a financial boost on their way. Each of the students, who are members of minorities underrepresented among physicians, will receive a $10,0...

  • iconMay Owen, MD, Outreach Program - 10/4/2024 7:47:27 PM

    The May Owen, MD, Outreach Program is a grant program of the TMA Women Physicians Section (TMA-WPS) that provides funding to bring female physician-oriented programs and activities to small and mid-sized county medical societies. Apply  |&...

  • iconCourt Sides With Medical Examiner in Suit Over Autopsy - 8/9/2024 9:30:50 PM

    With the Texas Medical Association’s help, a Harris County medical examiner has won the latest battle in a lawsuit over an autopsy he performed following a woman’s 2007 shooting death. In a decision released Thursday,  a three-judge panel in th...

  • iconMore Work Needed to Protect Texas Physicians - 6/28/2024 5:26:45 PM

    Following the Texas Medical Board’s (TMB’s) newly adopted rules on abortion ban exceptions, the Texas Medical Association continues its advocacy for physicians performing abortions to treat a medical emergency under the state’s overlapping abortion l...

  • iconChanging History: How TMA Has Influenced the Course of Texas Medicine - 6/4/2024 8:39:07 PM

    The Texas Medical Association’s 171-year existence is rich with milestones.  From ushering in significant legislative reforms and responding to emergencies to expanding its own operations and solving seemingly intractable problems, TMA has played an...

  • iconTMB Proposed Rules on Abortion Ban Exceptions Invite TMA Opposition - 5/14/2024 4:17:50 PM

    The Texas Medical Association's response to proposed medical board rules regarding abortion ban exceptions represents the continuation of medicine’s advocacy for regulatory and legislative clarity regarding what constitutes a “medical emergency” exce...

  • iconSeeking Balance: TMA Opposes Feds' Implementation of the No Surprises Act - 4/9/2024 5:28:18 PM

    When Congress passed the No Surprises Act in 2020, it was supposed to be a boon for patients: Take patients out of the middle of certain out-of-network billing disputes between insurers, physicians, and hospitals, and give them more transparency in t...

  • iconThe Trust Model: For Decades, TMA's Insurance Trusts Have Put Physicians First - 4/9/2024 5:11:25 PM

      Wendy Parnell, MD, first learned about the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust (TMAIT) after residency when she joined a private practice founded by her father and godfather that is a policyholder to this day.   Soon ther...

  • iconQuality of Life: Pay-for-Quality Programs Increasingly Address Nonmedical Drivers of Health - 3/15/2024 6:25:35 PM

    Physicians who track their patients’ nonmedical drivers of health – the conditions in which they live, work, and play – frequently see the difference it makes just as if they prescribed the right medicine or surgery, says Tyler family medicine specia...

  • iconExceptional Circumstances: TMA Advocates “Legislative Clarity” Amid State Abortion Bans - 3/5/2024 4:56:43 PM

    A recent lawsuit filed by a pregnant woman in Texas seeking an abortion because of a fatal fetal diagnosis made national headlines and spotlights the legal labyrinth in which Texas patients and the physicians who care for them now find themselves.  ...

  • iconMedicaid, CHIP Postpartum Coverage Extension Will Take Effect March 1 - 2/8/2024 12:46:10 AM

    After a multi-session advocacy effort by the Texas Medical Association, specialty societies, and women’s health advocates, Texans who are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and who are pregnant or become pregnant w...

  • iconMisdirected: Health Plan Directories See Damaging Gaps Awaiting Final Rules - 12/4/2023 7:50:07 PM

    Cypress neurologist Navin Kesari, MD, didn’t expect to be removed from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’ (BCBSTX’s) network directory.    He’d had no prior issues with the health plan’s directory, and no reason to believe that woul...

  • iconCare Connections: TMA Foundation Grants Tackle Public Health Problems - 11/9/2023 4:29:20 PM

    When Trey Moore, MD, started his career as a urologist in Fort Worth 26 years ago, he worked in a busy emergency department and his own private practice. In both settings, many of his patients weren’t covered by insurance and could only access stopga...

  • iconInspiring Choices: Mentorship Can Boost African-American Representation in Medicine - 10/20/2023 11:51:16 PM

    Vivian H. Porche, MD, has been mentoring young African American students since the 1990s, but only a handful followed in her footsteps to become a physician. One of those rare successes came last month when Victoria Beamer, MD, walked across the stag...

  • iconU.S. House Committee Spotlights TMA Leadership on Surprise-Billing Rules - 10/11/2023 3:32:56 PM

    As members of the U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means delved into the flawed implementation of the federal No Surprises Act in a recent hearing, discussion – and commendation – turned several times to the Texas Medical Association’s leadership o...

  • iconUmbilical Cord Blood Banking - 8/31/2023 8:17:35 PM

    Umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants are used to treat a variety of oncologic, genetic, hematologic, and immunodeficiency disorders. Physicians have an important role in educating, counseling, and offering umbilical cord blood donation and stor...

  • iconPatient Care Protected: Women's Reproductive Health - 8/14/2023 2:27:15 PM

    Related content: 2023 Legislative Wrap-Up: TMA Secured Big Wins With a New Strategy TMA Priority: Get clarity for physicians on how they can safely treat pregnant women while protecting the patient-physician relationship. Physician-Led Results: Phy...

  • iconTexas Physicians Push to Improve Health Care for LGBTQ Patients - 6/28/2023 11:37:49 PM

    September 3, 2019 The bottom line: 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 l...

  • iconPhysician-Led Results: Women’s Reproductive Health - 6/28/2023 3:17:04 PM

    Goal: Get clarity for physicians on how they can safely treat pregnant women while protecting the patient-physician relationship.    Recap: Physicians entered the 2023 legislative session with heavy concerns over and difficulties in interp...

  • iconHard Hats for Little Heads: TMA’s Helmet Giveaway Saves Lives - 6/14/2023 10:27:02 PM

    In 1993, a near tragedy showed San Angelo pain specialist Larry Driver, MD, a really great way to help people.    “A neighbor child was riding her bicycle and hit her head on the curb and suffered a concussion,” he told Texas Medi...

  • iconTMA Awards Highest Honor to Two Physicians: “This is Why Organized Medicine Is So Important” - 5/27/2023 3:59:28 AM

    The Texas Medical Association typically recognizes one physician each year with the Distinguished Service Award – it’s highest honor. But this year, two champions of organized medicine received the award at TexMed 2023 in Fort Worth: TMA past Preside...

  • iconTMA Recognizes Houston, El Paso Physicians With Highest Honors - 5/26/2023 7:53:41 PM

    May 22, 2023                            For just the fourth time in its history, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) today honored not one but two revered TMA physician lead...

  • iconTexMed Keynote: Physicians Should Lead Patient-Centered Innovation - 5/23/2023 7:25:09 PM

    Physicians must step up to become strong leaders who embrace patient-centered change while making sure trends in areas like technology and the management of medicine don’t threaten physician autonomy or the focus on patient care.   That wa...

  • iconStop Maternal Deaths: Texas Report Reinforces TMA Legislative Priorities - 3/10/2023 12:45:44 AM

    The latest biennial survey of maternal death and illness shows why the Texas Medical Association made improving maternal health one of its top priorities for the current state legislative session.     The report found that Texas ...

  • iconTMA Board of Councilors Current Opinions - 2/25/2023 10:59:46 PM

    TMA Board of Councilors Current Opinions INTRODUCTION The Board of Councilors serves as the ethical policy making body of the Texas Medical Association. First constituted in 1903, the Board is composed of a Councilor and Vice Councilor from the 15 ...

  • iconLegislative Priority #4: Medicaid Coverage for Women and Children - 1/6/2023 2:29:10 AM

    Related Content:2023 Legislative Preview: TMA's Top 10 Priorities Goal: Pursue more comprehensive coverage of and secure additional funding and resources for maternal and behavioral/mental health care for women and children  Impact: Medicaid expan...

  • iconCOVID-19 Now a Major Cause of Maternal Death, GAO Report Says - 11/1/2022 3:34:59 PM

    An analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides the first glimpse into the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women, and – not surprisingly – the disease has become a leading cause of death among them, says Houston obstetrician-gy...

  • iconWalk With a Doc Texas Celebrates 10 Years of Exercise, Good Health - 10/18/2022 4:19:54 PM

     Susan Pike, MD, in white shirt, leads Georgetown Walk With a Doc Texas participants at one of the state’s first walks, in 2012   A decade ago, two Texas physicians laced up their walking shoes to become the first in the state to adopt ...

  • iconInformed Consent - 10/7/2022 4:21:55 PM

    TMA Office of the General CounselApril 2018  Basic Concept and Origin   Texas Legislature Provides Guidance   Proper Disclosure of Risk Creates Legal Presumptions Favoring Physicians   Particular Form for Hysterectomies ...

  • iconStrength in Numbers: Women Physicians Seek to Change the Culture of Medicine - 9/22/2022 4:53:08 PM

    When Tina Philip, DO, joined the Texas Medical Association as a medical student in the early 2000s, she was outnumbered. Women made up less than 25% of TMA’s ranks at the time, and she was one of few women serving on the association’s Committee on Me...

  • iconTen Years Later: TMA Advocacy Nets Investments in Women’s Health - 7/27/2022 2:42:31 PM

    A decade ago, the Texas Legislature made a funding decision that devastated low-income women’s access to health care and the physicians and community clinics that care for them.  In crafting the final budget for 2012-13, the 2011 legislatu...

  • iconMember Spotlight: Emily D. Briggs, MD, Women Physicians Section Chair - 7/4/2022 7:46:45 PM

    Meet New Braunfels family physician Emily D. Briggs, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Women Physicians Section. Dr. Briggs feels the section is an important part of TMA because “historically, women have been underrepresented in medicine. ...

  • iconMaternity Deserts: Fewer Rural Hospitals Delivering Babies - 6/29/2022 9:02:50 PM

      A rural health care shortage is nothing new to Texas physicians and patients. But the problem has become especially difficult for women seeking maternity care in lightly populated regions like West Texas, says family physician Jennifer Liedtk...

  • iconPhysician-Led Results: Grassroots Advocacy Paid Off in Tangible Wins at the Capitol - 6/15/2022 9:56:35 PM

    InsuranceMedicaidLiabilityScope of PracticeTelemedicinePublic HealthMedical Education PHYSICIAN-LED RESULTS By Joey Berlin AFTER MORE THAN four months of masking up, logging on, and clicking “send,” it all paid off handsomely. Texas physicians ma...

  • iconMaximize Medicaid Coverage Under New State Laws, TMA Tells Legislature - 5/24/2022 7:15:37 PM

    The Texas Medical Association recently advised state policymakers on two big upcoming events that will affect millions of Texans relying on Medicaid – and the physicians who treat them. The first event is the implementation of a pair of bills passed...

  • iconRacial Barriers Contribute to Underrepresentation in Medicine, Poor Care, TexMed Speakers Show - 5/2/2022 7:34:54 PM

    A pair of physicians well versed in racism and inequities in medicine called on Texas physicians to use their advocacy voice and their spheres of influence to help make needed changes for their patients. “Addressing Racism in Health Care,” the openi...

  • iconPrivate Health Plans Must Cover Women’s Obesity Counseling, Other Preventive Services - 4/5/2022 3:26:59 PM

    Starting next year, private health plan policies that began after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect now will have to cover multiple types of prevention counseling for women, as well as contraceptive care, double electric breast pumps, an...

  • iconTexas Physician Leaders Win Top AMA Honors for Pandemic Achievements - 4/5/2022 2:25:03 AM

       Advancing COVID-19 vaccines and countering vaccine misinformation. Going to great lengths to secure personal protective equipment. Bolstering physician morale and professionalism in turbulent times. These were just a few of the outsta...

  • iconA Looming Deadline: What the Public Health Emergency's End Means for Coverage - 3/31/2022 5:58:21 PM

         As of Jan. 31, it has been two years since the federal government declared a public health emergency (PHE) because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a declaration that has since been extended eight times, most recently to April 1...

  • iconFrom the Valley to the Top: Incoming President E. Linda Villarreal, MD - 2/18/2022 11:37:56 PM

    When E. Linda Villarreal, MD, tells you, “My passion is medicine,” purer truth is hard to imagine. The Edinburg internist has pursued medicine – and the betterment of the profession – through every conceivable end and repeated personal trials. Ther...

  • iconAllies in Medicine: TMA Alliance Champions Physicians, Families - 2/16/2022 3:45:12 PM

    When a disturbing trend emerged in the Lubbock emergency department where Eman Attaya, MD, works, it sparked the idea for what has become the Texas Medical Association’s newest public health campaign designed to help families better control how much ...

  • iconMartha Pugh, MD: One of TMA’s longest-Serving Members Flourished in Male-Dominated Medicine - 12/1/2021 1:56:30 AM

    After growing up on a South Alabama cattle farm in the 1940s and ’50s, Martha Pugh, MD, went on to have a 51-year career in a different male-dominated field: medicine.  Often one of few women in the building, whether at medical school or in hospitals...

  • iconA Texas Trailblazer: May Owen, MD, a Medical Pioneer and TMA’s First Female President - 12/1/2021 1:54:59 AM

    On May 27, 1936, May Owen, MD, answered a scientific riddle in a speech before the Texas Medical Association, explaining research that would soon make her a statewide celebrity. The name of the paper she read that day, “Peritoneal Response to Glove P...

  • iconCongress May Extend Postpartum Medicaid Coverage to 12 Months - 10/19/2021 10:08:05 PM

    Federal legislation could move Texas toward one of the Texas Medical Association’s long-time goals for improving maternal health – extending Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to a full year. Just last spring, the Texas Legislature passed ...

  • iconFamily of Funds Nursing Scholarships - 9/21/2021 6:29:53 PM

    TMAF Hispanic Nursing Scholarship Trust Fund of Dr. Roberto J. and Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo  This inaugural trust under the Family of Funds program provides scholarships annually for nursing students in Harris and Travis counties. It is ...

  • iconMedicine With a Med Student: A Deep Dive Into Women’s Health Services in Texas, Part 1 - 7/20/2021 7:12:40 PM

    Editor’s note: The Medicine With a Med Student series is written exclusively by Texas medical students. This three-part blog series focuses on women’s health services in Texas under the state’s Healthy Texas Women, Family Planning Program, and Breast...