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.
“Because they’re not symptomatic all the time, they don’t necessarily feel they need to use their medications daily,” she said. “So I try to make comparisons with blood pressure medications, diabetes medications, and get their buy-in so they understand what the disease process is about and why their medications will help them in their aging process. Since they can’t see it, it’s harder for them to understand.”
Although patients can’t see that process unfold, they can listen to Texas Medical Association’s podcast, TMA Health Beat, which featured Dr. Bethea as a guest last fall. She spoke about Texas’ nearly year-round allergy season and some of the troublesome symptoms various pollens incite, and gave snippets of histamine trivia – such as allergies’ ability to freshly emerge in patients’ eighth and ninth decades of life. The “Allergy Season in Texas” episode delivers depth and insight without veering into providing medical advice.
The four-and-a-half-minute examination of a health topic by a physician, available to the public at no charge, reflects the podcast’s dual purpose. The program was developed by TMA’s Council on Health Promotion, of which Dr. Bethea is a past member, to highlight TMA physicians’ outreach in their communities to improve health and wellness, and inform listeners about timely health themes.
Since its January 2024 inception, the podcast has evolved to include episodes that shed light for the public on topics like prior authorizations, bringing physicians and patients alike up to speed on advocacy efforts TMA is pursuing to improve practice viability and patient access. Each episode clocks in at around five minutes, a boon for busy physicians and the podcast’s audience at large. (See “A Library of Knowledge,” page 7.)
With an abundance of health information – and misinformation – readily available to the public, Li-Yu Mitchell, MD, saw an opportunity for TMA Health Beat to disseminate accurate details on health topics as well as community outreach events in bite-sized doses.
“No one really has the bandwidth to listen to something long, right?” the Tyler family physician and immediate past chair of the Council on Health Promotion said. “That was the point; this is the perfect nugget of information to at least help you get interested in a topic.”
One such topic, Walk with a Doc (WWAD), was the subject of TMA Health Beat’s inaugural episode. WWAD, a free program organized by physicians and TMA Alliance members to encourage their patients to exercise, also prioritizes social connectedness and spending time in nature.
Each of those elements is audible in the episode, which breezes by at four minutes and spotlights a walk hosted by Marinel Munda, MD, in Tyler. Tai chi and a Zumba class bookend the walk itself, and retired physician Virgilio Gonzalez, MD, 100 years old at the time of taping, shares advice on remaining active and healthy as a centenarian. The immersive effects transmit a sense of the event that would be difficult to convey in words alone.
“The beauty of audio, of podcasts, is getting that essence,” said Pam Udall, TMA vice president of communications and marketing. “To get that sound from the event, or sound from the physician’s office, it builds the ambiance.”
A similar ambiance and richness are evident in the episode highlighting Texas BookShare, TMA’s outreach program to promote literacy and healthy habits. The episode, a favorite of multimedia manager and podcast producer Swathi Narayanan’s, foregrounds a project of the Nueces County Medical Society Alliance in which retired physicians Frederick Maurer III, MD, and Jon Manjarris, MD, read to students at T.G. Allen Elementary School in Corpus Christi.
“They were so kind in terms of getting me audio from their book reading, and they almost became journalists on my behalf, recording audio and understanding what I wanted,” Ms. Narayanan said.
The rustle of a book’s pages being turned and the voices of the students being read to punctuate the episode’s news thrust: Texas BookShare giving hundreds of books to schoolchildren in Corpus Christi and distributing thousands to clinics to give away during well check visits in the Fort Worth area, coordinated by Robert Rogers, MD, a member of TMA’s Council on Health Promotion and the Tarrant County Medical Society Alliance.
Beyond TMA Health Beat’s coverage of the association’s signature outreach programs, including Vaccines Defend What Matters and Hard Hats for Little Heads, the podcast has expanded its subject matter to raise awareness of challenges physicians and their patients face. Published in March, “Importance of Getting Vaccinated as Measles Spreads in West Texas” discusses the highly contagious respiratory disease. An episode on prior authorization shows how the tactic’s overreaching burdens affect patient care.
The “Strengthening Border Health Care” episode sheds light on challenges affecting the region: 42% of patients are uninsured and chronic illness rates are high, problems exacerbated by a physician shortage. The episode brings listeners to the TMA Border Health Conference, which was held in Laredo last year (tma.tips/BorderHealthConference).
That episode highlighted residency programs like the one at Laredo’s Gateway Community Health Center, which have had success in drawing physicians to the Rio Grande Valley.
One physician interviewed during the episode, Brandon Robert Cantazaro, MD, grew up in Arizona and completed his residency at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, then stayed in the area to teach and practice medicine.
“The patient population is wonderful. It’s a very family-oriented community. It’s a very grateful and humble community,” the McAllen internist said. “There’s a lot of growth taking place, so you have an opportunity to be part of that and give back to the community.”
Dr. Bethea lauds the episode for helping physicians learn about health care in the border region, the details of which she said not enough physicians know. Part of the impetus for the podcast, in addition to wanting a broader connection with physicians and the public, was to help doctors stay informed as practicing medicine has become more difficult, she says.
TMA Health Beat’s recent inclusion of subject matter affecting physicians is a positive addition, Dr. Bethea says.
“The [addition of more physician-focused content] this past year has been important, because as Medicare has cut our fees, as insurance has sent us more denial letters – we can’t keep our patients healthy if we’re not healthy,” the Spring allergy-immunology specialist said.
It’s a trend she’d like to see the podcast continue.
Episodes on topics like how Medicare payment cuts affect physicians and their patients reflect the podcast’s emphasis on wellness and pull double duty in educating the public. That interplay is crucial for helping patients understand what’s going on with their physicians who see Medicare patients, says Dr. Bethea.
“Until our patients get involved in these issues, I don’t know how much progress we’re going to make,” she said.