Ewingsargent0950

The COVID-19 vaccines currently under production are expected to reach the public faster than any previous vaccine. But no matter how quickly a vaccine is produced, it still must pass a series of rigorous scientific tests before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will license it for public use.Many medical educators and students think the clinical skills portion of the USMLE needs to be reformed or eliminated.TMA fights decision that could strip physicians of their ability to exercise their conscience.Vaccine scientists normally toil in anonymity, spending years nursing their creation through a series of regulatory and financial hurdles before finally earning a license from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But not in 2020. Creating a vaccine for COVID-19 has become the world's top priority, so vaccine development is suddenly moving very fast in a high-profile way.Two recent studies suggest expanding Medicaid will not only save Texas money, but add to the Lone Star State's coffers.Thanks in large part to COVID-19, telemedicine has arrived. Where does it go from here? That was much of the focus of a Telehealth Virtual Bootcamp, an Aug. 29 presentation by the Telehealth Initiative that touched on technology, applications, and payment.The Texas Medical Association and other corners of organized medicine know primary care is part of the bedrock of a sturdy health care system. So medicine - including the Texas Primary Care Consortium (TPCC), of which TMA is a member, and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) - is engaging policymakers to not only help the state's primary care system survive the pandemic, but also enable it to thrive for the long haul.Most people have gradually adjusted to the day-to-day changes caused by COVID-19, such as washing hands frequently, wearing masks, and social distancing. But others have looked for strategies to get around the hassles caused by the pandemic. In some cases, this has included deliberately trying to contract the potentially deadly illness through "COVID parties," events designed to expose people to someone with COVID-19.TMA is developing a promising, locally focused version of the accountable care organization (ACO) model that could help cover uninsured and underinsured Texans who fall in the gap or "hole" in the state's safety net those who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid coverage as it's now administered in Texas, but also don't qualify for Medicare.For the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and many of the accountable care organizations (ACOs) that participated in it, 2019 was billed as a transition year. But data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in September show Texas ACOs fared quite well last year - and a number of Texas physicians and ACO officials say the savings generated are worth the gruntwork that MSSP requires.What if Texas lawmakers created a mental health service that physicians asked for but then not many physicians used it? So far, that is what's happening with the Child Psychiatric Access Network (CPAN), which gives pediatricians and family physicians across Texas free telemedicine-based consultation and training on community psychiatry.Even though COVID-19 vaccines are closer than ever to use by the general public, many questions remain about how they will be distributed to Texas physicians - and how they'll be received by Texans. That's why TMA in October weighed in on the state's distribution plan with recommendations to help ensure COVID-19 vaccines are not only distributed effectively and efficiently, but also seen as trusted tools in the fight against the illness.It's no surprise that many physicians were among the more than 1.3 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas last year. Texas Medicine spoke with three Texas physicians who contracted COVID-19 to learn how the disease affected them physically and impacted their outlook as caregivers.Over the years, several vaccines have been blamed for SIDS, including those for pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Hemophilus influenzae type B, polio, and hepatitis B. This misconception has triggered a lot of scientific study to find out if vaccines could, in fact, cause SIDS. However, multiple studies and safety reviews have concluded that the answer is no, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Texas opened two new medical schools in July - the University of Houston College of Medicine in Houston and Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Conroe. Thanks to COVID-19, both opened under circumstances that would have seemed bizarre just a year ago.Not long after COVID-19 hit Texas last March, pediatricians at Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) began screening patients for food insecurity. The timing was coincidental but fortunate given the pandemic's economic toll.The malaise in physician practice long known as burnout - a term doctors increasingly balk at - has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as an extensive survey by the Physicians Foundation recently showed. It's created its own stressors and made existing ones worse.A newly revised Texas Medical Association CME teaches physicians how to recognize human trafficking victims who come into their office, and how to help these patients escape what's sometimes referred to as "modern-day slavery."Physicians have proven ways to respond to patients' reluctance on vaccines.As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continues to churn out glowing data annually on its Quality Payment Program (QPP), a full picture of the program's impact eludes the agency's reporting. selleck chemicals According to the Texas Medical Association's analysis of state-level data in the 2018 QPP Experience Report, it's clear that small practices continue to feel most of the program's punitive pressures.Starting April 5, physicians must be ready to electronically share with patients more of the information generated during office visits. This change comes thanks to "information blocking" rules that are part of the 21st Century Cures Act, passed by Congress in 2016 and put into regulation in 2020 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator (ONC).