Robert "Sam" Tessen, Executive Director

IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
UPDATE FROM TEXAS ALLIANCE FOR PATIENT ACCESS (TAPA)
EDUARDO SANCHEZ NEW BCBS-TX CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN (at OMCT)
NEARLY HALF OF U.S. ADULTS LACK "HEALTH LITERACY" NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND AND ACT ON
      BASIC HEALTH INFORMATION
A LONE STAR STATE NO MORE:  ROOM FOR SPECIALTY HOSPITALS
DOCTORS SUGGEST GUIDELINES FOR CARE IN DISASTERS; WHO GETS CARE
ADVOCACY FOR PROPER OSTEOPATHIC RECOGNITION 
GROWTH SLOWS FOR IN-STORE CLINICS
MAY IS NATIONAL OSTEOPOROSIS AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH
REGISTER TODAY FOR 113TH AOA CONVENTION AND SCIENTIFIC SEMINAR IN LAS VEGAS
ATOMA MEMBERSHIP:  Add ME to the Texas Osteopathic Family!
COMMON SENSE AND A SENSE OF HUMOR ARE THE SAME THING, MOVING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS.

ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS:

District 5            Thursday, May 15th, 6:30 p.m.
                        TOMA & ATOMA Executive Committee Meeting
                        Grotto
                        2222 McKinney Aveune at Pearl
                        Dallas, TX

District 7            Thursday, May 15th, 6:30 p.m.
                        Shoreline Grill
                        98 San Jacinto
                        Austin, TX
   
District 8            Thursday, May 22nd, 6:30 p.m.
                        Utopia World Cuisine
                        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

May 17th            Graduation, UNTHSC, Fort Worth, TX   

June 19-22, 2008  Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
                         Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX
                         Register ON-LINE at www.txosteo.org or www.txacofp.org

National Hospital Week                               May 11 - 17, 2008
Mother's Day                                            May 11, 2008
Memorial Day                                            May 26, 2008

UPDATE FROM TEXAS ALLIANCE FOR PATIENT ACCESS (TAPA)

Please note that we have revamped the TAPA web site. Please see "Physician growth by county" and "Physician growth  by specialty" under "Improving Access to Care". Click on the links below:

Texas Alliance For Patient Access:  http://www.tapa.info/

Improving Access to Care:  http://www.tapa.info/html/Improving_Access.html

Bills We Oppose:  http://www.tapa.info/html/Bills_we_Oppose.html

Texas Legislative Reforms:  http://www.tapa.info/html/Texas_Legislative_Reforms.html

EDUARDO SANCHEZ NEW BCBS-TX CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Eduardo Sanchez, MD, has been named vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Sanchez is the former commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Department of Health. Most recently, he was the director of the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas Health Center at Houston's School of Public Health. He will start in his new role at BCBSTX on May 30. BCBSTX works with about 400 hospitals statewide and has about 3.8 million members in Texas.

From:  Texas Healthflash, by HCPro, Inc., www.healthleadersmedia.com

AND THE WALLS CAME TUMBLING DOWN (at OMCT)

Until yesterday,  progress on the former Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas demolition has been less visible to those on the Montgomery Street side of the building. On Thursday, the tall tower  in the central area of the old hospital tumbled down into a jumble of metal,  staircases and roofing material.  And  much of the building on the Haskell Street side is gone. Demolition is on  schedule and should be completed by the end of June, when construction of the new  Public Health Education building will begin.
http://e2ma.net/go/1063270205/962022/35327722/goto:http://www.hsc.unt.edu/news/Connections/20080502Connect/Links/TopStory04.html

From:  Campus Connections, UNTHSC

NEARLY HALF OF U.S. ADULTS LACK "HEALTH LITERACY" NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND AND ACT ON BASIC HEALTH INFORMATION

Nearly half all U.S. adults lack the "health literacy" skills necessary to understand and act on basic health information - a problem that costs pharmaceutical payers billions of dollars annually on misused medications and contributes to roughly 1.5 million adverse drug events every year, experts say. As a result, some health plans and pharmacy benefit managers contacted by AIS are taking steps to address the health literacy issues of their members in an attempt to improve therapeutic outcomes and the bottom line...
Visit http://www.aishealth.com/GNOW/050508.html#gnowone for more information.

From:  Government News of the Week, Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS),  http://www.AISHealth.com.

A LONE STAR STATE NO MORE:  ROOM FOR SPECIALTY HOSPITALS
Guest Commentary

"This town ain't big enough for the both of us." Sounds like an old John Wayne Western, but often this is the relationship between large general hospitals and physician-owned, short-stay hospitals. However, Texas is home to more physician-owned short-stay hospitals than any other state in the nation. Rather than resist them, some prominent hospital systems have chosen to embrace them.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/MODERNPHYSICIAN/862014186/-1/newsletter06

From:  Modern Physician, Crain Communication, Inc., http://www.modernphysician.com/

DOCTORS SUGGEST GUIDELINES FOR CARE IN DISASTERS; WHO GETS CARE
Associated Press

CHICAGO - Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster.
The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding whom to let die.

Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients would not be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia.

The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.pandemic05may05,0,1198192.story

From:  SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc., www.SmartBrief.com

ADVOCACY FOR PROPER OSTEOPATHIC RECOGNITION 

AOA President Peter B. Ajluni, DO, wrote to the author of the 4/21/08 MSNBC article, "Mainstream docs join anti-aging bandwagon," which stated that "Mainstream doctors. once wanted nothing to do with the naturopaths, osteopaths and others, and whom they often considered glorified carnival barkers."   President Ajluni expressed the AOA's shock at the misleading nature of this statement, which leaves readers with the impression that DOs are "alternative" health care practitioners.  President Ajluni further noted the need for greater awareness about the osteopathic medical profession, suggesting that the author or a colleague at MSNBC write a story educating people about osteopathic medicine and the rapidly increasing number of DOs.

GROWTH SLOWS FOR IN-STORE CLINICS

Growth in the walk-in health-clinic sector appears to be slowing, with some companies that operate clinics in pharmacies, supermarkets and big-box retailers closing or scaling back expansion plans. Some operators said the clinics can be complicated and expensive to manage. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) (5/7)

From:  SmartBrief, SmartBrief, Inc., www.SmartBrief.com

MAY IS NATIONAL OSTEOPOROSIS AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

In conjunction with National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reminds health care professionals that Medicare provides coverage of bone mass measurements for beneficiaries at clinical risk for osteoporosis.

Talk with your patients about their risks factors for osteoporosis, prevention measures they can take to reduce their risk factors, and the importance of utilizing bone mass measurements; and

Encourage eligible Medicare patients to take full advantage of Medicare's bone mass measurement benefit.

REGISTER TODAY FOR 113TH AOA CONVENTION AND SCIENTIFIC SEMINAR IN LAS VEGAS

The 113th AOA Convention and Scientific Seminar, taking place October 26-30, provides you with a great opportunity to earn up to 40 CME hours.  In fact, you can earn enough Category 1-A CME hours to fulfill your AOA membership requirement for an entire three-year cycle. Read More: 

http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/aoatouch/issues/2008-05-01/1.html

ATOMA MEMBERSHIP:  Add ME to the Texas Osteopathic Family!
 
For Osteopathic Physicians, Family and Friends - $30 due now for 2008!
(The ATOMA directory is being prepared NOW, so don't delay, please.)
 
NAME:______________________________________________
 
Mailing Address:______________________________________
 
EMAIL: _____________________________________________
 
Telephone:__________________________________________
 
Mail $30 check today to ATOMA, c/o Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, 1415 Lavaca, Austin, TX 78701.  OR Fax credit card info to TOMA @ 512-708-1415.
 
Any questions?  Wondering if you've paid already - or forgot?  Please email Deidre Froelich, ATOMA Membership,  d2froelich@verizon.net with any questions.  Fax 903-583-1234.  We want YOU in the TxDO Family!

If you don't think you have TIME to be an ATOMA member, please be aware that ATOMA welcomes you on YOUR terms.  We welcome financial supporting members as well as active participants.  This is YOUR family; be comfortable.  One size ($30) fits all.  Join today!  (Thank you! DLF)

COMMON SENSE AND A SENSE OF HUMOR ARE THE SAME THING, MOVING AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS.

Mothers' Definitions:
   Hearsay: What toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.
   Independent: How we want our children to be for as long as they do everything we say.
   Show Off: A child who is more talented than yours.

Little Girl to her friend: "I'm never having kids. I hear they take nine months to download."

For two solid hours, the lady sitting next to a man on an airplane had told him about her grandchildren. She had even produced a plastic-foldout photo album of all nine of the children.  She finally realized that she had dominated the entire conversation on her grandchildren.   "Oh, I've done all the talking, and I'm so sorry. I know you certainly have something to say. Please, tell me... what do you think of my grandchildren?"

You know you're a mom when:
     You're so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls and HE hangs up on YOU!
     You find yourself humming the Barney song as you do the dishes.

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ADVOCATE DO MEDICAL LIABILITY COVERAGE FOR DO's

As a TOMA member, you are eligible for the TOMA Preferred Program which offers discounted rates on medical malpractice insurance premiums from Advocate, DO.  TOMA has partnered with Advocate, DO to bring you competitive rates, free risk management assessments, in-house legal assistance, aggressive claims management and a claims-made policy that does not expire.  In addition, you will receive Texas Medical Board coverage with separate limits, no deductible and no out of pocket expenses!  Advocate, DO does not require any surplus charges, TMA or County Medical Association dues and will provide prior acts coverage.

Take full advantage of your TOMA Preferred Program discounts, call Advocate, DO today - (800) 686-2734 or visit www.advocatedo.com.

Advocate, D.O.

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

800-686-2734 or 512.275.1830

www.advocatedo.com