Are you concerned about where emergency medicine is going and who is working for your personal concerns?
Emergency physicians face a wide variety of challenges in an era of rapid change. We must be united to protect our specialty and to protect our patients.
The Texas College of Emergency Physicians is your voice for those concerns.
Texas Gains Dramatic Rise in Emergency Doctors
AUSTIN, Texas —The Texas College of Emergency Physicians (TCEP) announced a dramatic rise in Texans’ access to emergency medical care at a press conference held this morning at the State Capitol. Senator Troy Fraser reported that the state’s gains in emergency physicians result directly from medical liability reforms passed in 2003.
“I am thrilled that my constituents in the counties I represent now have access to board-certified emergency physicians providing critical care where previously they had none or very limited access to this care,” said Senator Fraser. “House Bill 4 has produced the results we were aiming for when we passed medical liability reforms during the 78th Texas Legislature.”
Data released by the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Office of Rural Community Affairs, the Texas Medical Board and the Texas Alliance for Patient Access quantifies this significant increase in board-certified emergency physicians in Texas. Seventy-six counties have experienced a net gain in emergency physicians since the passage of medical liability reforms five years ago, including 39 medically underserved counties and 30 counties that are partially medically underserved. Click here to read complete report.
Dr. Fite's Article
EMphasis Report for Government Relations
Committee (2/09)
I am so proud of our TCEP members. Although I lack 100% official confirmation, I am almost certain we had the most physicians of any specialty at the TMA First Tuesday on February 3. We had more than thirty emergency physicians present. We expect about the same number of emergency physicians to attend on March 3 as well. Government Relations committee members Dr. Bruce Moskow and Dr. Sam Roberts will be hosting a special orientation event the night before at their Austin-based office, and we hope that will encourage attendance by TCEP members who might otherwise be reluctant to go to the Capitol.
During the February First Tuesday, one of the highlights was a press event arranged by our lobbyist, Mignon McGarry, to call attention to the increase in numbers of physicians, particularly emergency physicians and on-call specialists, now practicing in Texas due to the tort reform of 2003. The press event was held along with Senator Troy Fraser and featured Dr. Bobby Greenberg, who is in the district covered by the senator. TCEP members were everywhere on camera, and it produced great publicity! Click to read entire article.
Mignon McGarry's Weekly
This Week in Texas—Wedneday, September 30, 2009
Georgetown orthopaedic surgeon Charles Schwertner announced his intention to run for House District 20, the seat currently held by Rep. Dan Gattis (R-Gerogetown). Gattis has announced that he will vacate the seat to run for the Senate District 5 seat being vacated by Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan).
Republican Giovanni Capriglione, vice-president of a small business investment company, announced his candidacy for the House District 98 seat currently held by Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Southlake).
Joey Longley, who served as Executive Director of the Sunset Advisory Commission for 14 years, has joined Blackridge, a Texas-based lobby firm led by Rusty Kelley. Longley will lead a group within the firm that focuses on advising clients on the Sunset process.
Republican Party of Texas Chairwoman Tina Benkiser will leave her post with the party and join the Rick Perry re-election effort next month as a senior advisor.
Who says sports and politics don't mix? Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) is one of three top advisers to wide receiver Michael Crabtree who is involved in a rookie contact dispute with the San Francisco 49ers.
Texas Compared with the Nation
Texas ranked 21st in the nation with an overall C grade for its support of an emergency care system to meet the needs of its residents. Its score was helped by an outstanding grade for its Medical Liability Environment. No state performed better in that important category than the Lone Star State. But Texas' overall grade was hurt by a poor performance in Access to Emergency Care.
