There's nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won't cure.     -- Dan Bennett

IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:

• On The Schedule And District Meetings

• Dr. Donald Patrick To Retire As Texas Medical Board Executive Director

• Health Care Plan For Low-Income Adults Won't Start This Year After All
• Updated Workers Comp Medical Fee Guidelines Training
• Texas DO Featured In AmericanWay© Magazine
• Reduce Liability When Treating Non-English Speaking Patients
• AOA Health Policy Note
• How Jump Drives Could Save Lives
• Docs, Insurers Agree On Ratings System
• AOA Convention In Las Vegas, Oct. 26-30; Registration/Advanced Housing Now Open
• April Is National Humor Month; Let's Celebrate!

District 13           Thursday, April 17th, 6:30 p.m.
                         Sullivan's Steak House
                         11795 N. Dallas Parkway
                         Dallas, TX

District 4             Saturday, April 19, 2008, 12:00 noon
                         Cypress Street Station 
                         (Downtown Abilene)
                         158 Cypress Street
                         Abilene, TX 79601
                         TOMA / ATOMA PRESIDENTIAL VISIT

District 8             Thursday, April 24th, 6:30 p.m.
                         Utopia Restaurant
                         Corpus Christi, TX

District 10           Tuesday, May 27th, 6:30 p.m.
                         Lubbock Country Club
                         Lubbock, TX

District 7             Friday, August 8th
                         Reception and Mixer to welcome incoming residents
                         TOMA Building, 1415 Lavaca
                         Austin, TX
 
District 7             Thursday, August 21st

   
April 24, 2008       DO Day on the Hill
                         American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
                         Registration forms can be found at D.O. Online.

April 26, 2008 (Saturday)     TOMA House of Delegates
                                       Sheraton Hotel,
                                       701 E. 11th St. (I-35 & 11th St.), 
                                       Austin, TX

June 19-22, 2008  Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
                         Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX

Earth Day                                                       April 22, 2008          
Administrative Professionals Day                         April 23, 2008
National Volunteer Week:                                  April 27-May 3, 2008

DR. DONALD PATRICK TO RETIRE AS TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

Donald Patrick, M.D., J.D., announced that he will retire from his position as Executive Director on August 28, his 70th birthday.

TMB's Executive Committee began the process of forming a search committee. If the committee has not found a replacement by the time Dr. Patrick retires, TMB's Director of Enforcement Mari Robinson will serve as Interim Executive Director until a new Executive Director is hired.

HEALTH CARE PLAN FOR LOW-INCOME ADULTS WON'T START THIS YEAR AFTER ALL

By Corrie MacLaggan, Austin American-Statesman, 8 April 2008
AUSTIN - Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins is backing off a plan to provide health care to thousands of low-income, uninsured Texas adults by the fall.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/04/08/0408hop.html

UPDATED WORKERS COMP MEDICAL FEE GUIDELINES TRAINING

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, has posted an updated Medical Fee Guidelines Training Module on the Division's website.  The updated Medical Fee Guidelines Training Module addresses the new Medical Fee Guideline rules for professional services that became effective on March 1, 2008.

Please click on the following link to view the Medical Fee Guidelines Training Module:  http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/fee/documents/mfgmodule7.pdf .

TEXAS DO FEATURED IN AMERICANWAY MAGAZINE 

AOA member Anthony Johnson, DO, was featured in a 4/1/08 AmericanWay Magazine article, "Operating in Utero," for his work performing delicate operations on babies while they are still in the womb.  Dr. Johnson, an osteopathic surgeon at Texas Children's Hospital, uses a fetoscope -- a telescope with a small camera attached to the end - to see into the uterus and perform maternal-fetal surgeries.  As Dr. Johnson states in the article, as many as two dozen medical centers now perform some type of fetal intervention; at least 760 such surgeries were performed in the US and Canada in 2005 and 2006 combined.  Dr. Johnson serves on the Board of the North American Fetal Therapy Network (NAFTNet).  Read more online: 

http://www.americanwaymag.com/tabid/2855/tabidext/3775/default.aspx

REDUCE LIABILITY WHEN TREATING NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING PATIENTS

Make sure you comply with antidiscrimination laws to avert legal problems.
http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=505784

From:  ModernMedicine, Advanstar Communications, www.ModernMedicine.com

AOA HEALTH POLICY NOTE

The 3/24-31/08 American Medical News reported that medical students begin to lose empathy for patients within one year of entering medical school, and their compassion continues to erode throughout their careers.
 
HOW JUMP DRIVES COULD SAVE LIVES

They're small, portable and powerful - and now the jump drives you use in your computer might be used to save lives. In a unique program, doctors at Ohio State University are now loading these tiny drives with vital information that could help heart patients in an emergency.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102695.php

From:  Medical News Today News Alert, www.medicalnewstoday.com/

DOCS, INSURERS AGREE ON RATINGS SYSTEM

Doctors, insurers and patient advocates this week agreed to a physician rating system to replace the myriad ones now used by insurance companies, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The new national standard would make performance measures among insurance companies more consistent.  Many insurers now post physician ratings on their Web sites, but some doctors say the scores rely too heavily on how much money providers cost insurance companies, the Chronicle said.

Groups backing this week's physician rating system include the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the AFL-CIO, AARP, and the National Business Coalition on Health. Insurers participating include Cigna, Aetna, United Healthcare, and Wellpoint, along with the health insurance industry's lobbying body, America's Health Insurance Plans, the paper reported.

For more information, click here:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5667047.html

AOA CONVENTION IN LAS VEGAS, OCT. 26-30; REGISTRATION AND HOUSING NOW OPEN

For those of you who like to plan 6 months in advance,  Registration and housing for the 2008 Convention (Las Vegas - October 26-30) now is open.  Here is the link:

https://www.do-online.org/index.cfm?au=D&PageId=aoa_profmain&SubPageId=conv_

APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH; LET'S CELEBRATE.

I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money.  ~Arthur Godfrey

A tax loophole is "something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.''
- Russell B. Long, U.S. Senator

We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.                     -Winston Churchill 

The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.                                          Will Rogers

The way taxes are, you might as well marry for love.                  Joe E. Lewis

If the IRS took 100 taxpayers at random and sent each an incorrect notice that they owed an extra $92.35 in taxes and interest, more than two-thirds would probably just send in a check without investigating further.    -- G. Guttman

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Advocate, D.O.

Underwritten by Advocate, MD Insurance Company of the Southwest Inc.

800-686-2734 or 512.275.1830