Throughout his 39 years in medicine, Douglas W. Curran, MD, has advocated on behalf of Texas patients and physicians.
Dr. Curran, who practices at Lakeland Associates and at UT Health Athens, pushed for the passage of Texas’ groundbreaking medical liability reforms in 2003; fought for sweeping patient-rights protections including holding managed care insurance companies accountable for their actions; supported legislation to improve the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid; and fought to protect patients from unsafe care.
He has testified before legislative committees countless times, and visits regularly with Texas and Washington lawmakers to push for a better health care system.
Dr. Curran has been very active in his 38 years in TMA. He is the immediate past-chair of the TMA Board of Trustees and a member of TMA’s Select Committee on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured. He chaired TMA’s Select Committee on National Health System Reform, served on the TMA PracticeEdge Board of Managers; was district vice chair of TEXPAC, the association’s political action committee; and a member of the board of the philanthropic TMA Foundation.
Dr. Curran also has represented the Henderson County Medical Society in the TMA House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body, for more than 20 years. He is a past president of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP); has chaired two of the group’s commissions, and served on the TAFP Board of Directors. Dr. Curran also has served in the American Academy of Family Physicians and its Commission for Governmental Advocacy.
The family physician has received many awards and accolades, including the Rural Health Champion Award from the Texas Rural Health Association in 2017.
Dr. Curran and his wife, Sandy, have been married for 49 years. They have a daughter, Cortney, and a son, Chris, and daughter-in-law, Britne.
Dr. Curran enjoys serving his church, visiting with friends and neighbors, and dancing to a “good Texas swing band” when possible. The country doctor lives on a ranch just outside of Athens and tends to 221 head of cattle. Doing so connects him to the roots of his upbringing in Arkansas, where he attended medical school at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He completed his residency at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Family Medicine Residency Program at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.