2012 Joint Installation of Officers

Men's Basketball - UT vs A&M

Doctors Going Broke

Business of Medicine

Health Department Alert - U.S. Soldiers and Rabies: Investigations of

Post-Deployment Exposures

Volunteer Thank You - Capital Area Food Bank

TMA Winter Conference

Join Today - Professional Association for Health Care Office Management

Spanish Meducation - Spring 2012 Schedule

TMA Anson Jones, MD Awards - Nominations Accepted

Membership Applicants

TCM Alliance Gala

Save the Date

You and your spouse/guest are cordially invited to attend the 2012 Joint Installation of Officers honoring 2012 TCMS President R.Y. Declan Fleming, MD and
2012-13 TCMA President Mrs. Lydia Soldano on Thursday, March 29 at the Westin Austin at the Domain (11301 Domain Drive). Reception at 6:00 pm followed by dinner at 7:00 pm.

TCMS Executive Board
R.Y. Declan Fleming, MD President
Michelle Berger, MD President Elect
Brian S. Sayers, MD Immediate Past President
Tony Aventa, MD Member At Large
Robert K. Cowan, MD Member At Large
Isabel V. Hoverman, MD Member At Large

Jeffrey Jekot, MD Member At Large
Pradeep Kumar, MD Member At Large
Hillary Miller, MD Member At Large
Dora Salazar, MD Chair, Board of Ethics
James R. Eskew, MD Delegation Representative
Stephen S. Clark, MD BTC Representative

To RSVP, call (512) 206-1146 or tcms@tcms.com.

TCMS has reserved a block of seats for the UT vs A&M men’s basketball game on Wednesday, January 11. Start time is slated for 8:00 pm at the Frank Erwin Center. Join your colleagues and friends in rooting for your favorite team.

Tickets are $15 each and must be picked up from the Society office at 4300 N Lamar by January 10.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Society at 512-206-1270. Ten ticket limit per physician.

An article was recently published by CNN Money. The article provides a great platform to inform the media and public about the issue of doctors going broke.

TMA would like physicians to share their stories on www.MeAndMyDoctor.com. Consider sending in a personal story – it doesn’t have to be long – one paragraph will work. Don’t like writing? Call Pam Udall at 512-370-1382 and she’ll write up your comments

Calling all primary care physicians and specialists! Join your colleagues for an interactive evening on Thursday, January 19 in the Texas Medical Association’s Thompson Auditorium, 401 W 15th at 6:00 pm as TCMS presents Marketing and Referrals: Making the Most of Your Practice.

Kristy Ryan, CEO of Lexicon Medical will begin the evening with a presentation on how to market your practice to gain physician referrals. Ms. Ryan has more than 10 years of medical sales experience and a wealth of information from both the health care and marketing industries.

The presentation will be followed by an interactive speed referral exercise. Ms. Ryan and her marketing representatives will be on hand to answer questions and help you through the process of meeting colleagues and establishing important referral relationships. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your referral base.

To RSVP, contact the Society at 512-206-1146 or tcms@tcms.com.

During August 2011, a U.S. soldier stationed at a military base in New York became ill with symptoms compatible with rabies. Onset of symptoms occurred approximately three months following active deployment in Afghanistan. Diagnostic testing confirmed rabies and characterized a variant associated with Afghani dogs. In more than 30 years, no other rabies case has resulted from exposure during active duty.

During the course of contact tracing and investigating the soldier's exposure, additional soldiers were identified with unreported animal exposures, mostly dog bites. In response to these findings, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated a collaborative effort to identify soldiers returning from active duty abroad that may have had unreported rabies exposures. Routine exposure assessment is being included in post-deployment evaluations of soldiers and efforts are underway to identify veterans who may have had an unreported exposure in the past 18 months.

State and local health departments should be aware that they may be contacted about soldiers undergoing rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) due to potential exposures abroad. The DoD and VA will soon provide guidance to soldiers on rabies exposure and administration of PEP. Recommendations should follow standard ACIP guidelines.

The VA, DOD, and CDC will continue to help ensure that health care providers, and all others who conduct risk assessments, follow appropriate recommendations, in order for affected soldiers to receive timely and effective care.

For additional information, see:
US Department of Veterans Affairs - Rabies Information
ACIP Recommendations on Human Rabies Prevention

Be prepared, be very prepared. The 2012 Winter Conference on January 27-28 features innovative leaders with insight into the challenges Texas physicians face as a result of health reform. Recommendations will be offered on how to take advantage of new innovations and technologies to improve and streamline models of care and payment. In addition, Texas legislators will be on hand to discuss the 2012 primary elections.

Click here for online registration. Free registration is one of the many benefits of your TMA and TCMS membership.

The Travis County Chapter of the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (PAHCOM) is an organization benefitting the medical community through educational networking of member office staff.

Programs are designed for office managers and other staff to obtain helpful information used on a daily basis in running a physician office. Networking with other office managers and corporate sponsors rounds out the meeting each month.

PAHCOM invites physician office staff to attend a meeting: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm on the third Wednesday of each month at Seton Medical Center, 1201 W. 38th Street, McFadden Auditorium.

To become a member contact Maria Harvey at 512-324-2722 or mlharvey@seton.org.

Spanish Meducation® is the practical medical Spanish program offered through the Travis County Medical Society since 1994. The 10-week program is designed for all health care professionals: physicians, pharmacists, nurses, therapists, social workers, technicians, emergency personnel, and their support staff.

The classes develop beginning, intermediate, and advanced conversational skills in general Spanish with a concentration on health care situations. Grammar takes a back seat. All handouts are included in the tuition cost; no textbook is required.

This spring we are offering an early registration discount of $25 by January 11: $225 for new students, $205 for continuing and $185 for Querétaro immersion program graduates. After January 11 tuition is $250 for new students, $230 for continuing students, and $210 for Querétaro immersion program graduates.

All classes meet once a week in the evening from 6:30-8:30 pm at the Travis County Medical Society, 4300 N Lamar. There will be no classes during the week of March 12 spring break). If you are a true beginner, Level I is for you. Otherwise, we encourage you to contact Jill at 512-835-7612 to discover which level will benefit you the most.

Level I - Beginning: Wednesdays, February 1 – April 11
Level II - Basic (Beginner-Plus): Tuesdays, January 31 – April 10
Level III - High Basic: Mondays, January 30 – April 9
Level IV - Low Intermediate: Wednesdays, February 1 – April 11
Level V - Intermediate: Tuesdays, January 31 – April 10
Advanced Level - Conversation, reading, and translation: Mondays, January 30 - April 9 (does not certify students for professional translation services.)

For questions, contact program director, Jill Snyder, PhD at jld@prismnet.com or 512-835-7612.

Do you write a medical column for your local newspaper? Host a show on the radio? Maybe do a weekly medical segment on local TV news? Do you host a health care blog? If so, showcase your talents and enter the Physician Excellence in Reporting category of the TMA Anson Jones, MD Awards.

Entries must be received by January 15. Click here for instructions, contest rules, and entry form. For questions, contact Brent Annear at 512-370-1381 or brent.annear@texmed.org.

The following physicians have applied for TCMS membership. Under the provisions of the bylaws, names of applicants are presented to the membership for review. Written objections to the applicant’s membership must be directed to the TCMS Board of Ethics within 30 days of publication.

Click here to view new member applicants with photos.

Join the Travis County Medical Alliance for their annual gala on Saturday, February 11 in the downtown Omni Hotel at 6:30 pm.

Mix, mingle, dine, and dance “Studio 54” style at the Diamond Disco Ball. Experience “red carpet” treatment while sipping cocktails and peruse the silent auction items or enter the raffle drawing for a pair of diamond disco ball drop earrings.

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets, or call Lara Norris at

512-913-9121.