Table of Contents: July 2008



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Vol. 104, Issue No. 7 - July 2008

 

 

COVER STORY

Greetings From the TMB (pages 16-23)
What happens if you get that dreaded letter from the Texas Medical Board telling you someone has filed a complaint against you? Almost 2,500 of your colleagues received such a letter last year. Do you know how to defend yourself against a complaint? One of the first things to do is to get yourself a lawyer to represent you during the investigative process. By Ken Ortolon

 

PUBLIC HEALTH

 

Doctors = Trust (pages 25-28)
Physicians in the San Angelo area responded quickly when TMA and state health officials called for volunteers to care for women and children removed from the polygamist compound near Eldorado. Despite cultural differences, the women and children trusted the volunteers because they are physicians. By Crystal Conde

 

 

MEDICAL ECONOMICS

Where's the Charity? (pages 31-34)
Incomes declining because of low reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, and other payers are forcing many physicians to cut back on providing charity care. Worried TMA officials say that presents serious concerns about access to care for low-income and senior Texans. By Ken Ortolon

 

 

SCIENCE

Doctors for Donation (pages 37-40)
The success of TMA's Live & Then Give organ donation awareness program prompted federal officials to begin a new program that asks primary care physicians to take the lead in encouraging patients to become donors. They hope to reduce the number of patients waiting for a lifesaving transplant. By Ken Ortolon

 

 

ROUNDS(pages 9-12)

Town Hall Meeting Lets Physicians Listen to Patients
Those Were the Days
TDI Fines Silent PPO
Save Money, Conserve Electricity
Free E-Book to Improve Your Practice
Comptroller Revises Tax Rules

 

 

MANAGING YOUR PRACTICE(page 3)

Blue Cross Changes Imaging Policy
Effective July 1, the Radiology Quality Initiative for outpatient high-tech diagnostic imaging services no longer applies to subscribers of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas' BlueChoice Solutions.

Sacroiliac Joint Injections
Blue Cross no longer covers sacroiliac joint injections for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, including utilization of cortisone or local anesthesia. Blue Cross considers such injections to be experimental, investigational, and unproven.

Top-Selling Medical Reference Free Online
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine , the best-selling medical title in the world, now is available free to TMA members in a revised and updated 17th edition. It covers more than 4,700 diseases and disorders. Call the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 or (512) 370-1550 for more information.

 

 

JOURNAL

Return of the Ice Age: Therapeutic Hypothermia (pages 44-46)

Epidemiological Summary of HIV/AIDS in Tarrant County, 2000 through 2005 (pages 47-52) ( abstract )

 

 

DEPARTMENTS

Commentary (pages 5-6)
Deaths (page 41)
Classifieds (pages 54-55)
MedBytes (page 56)

 

 

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